The NBA Playoffs are a cauldron of intensity and emotions. With the stakes sky-high, even the smallest slights can spark something bigger. Tonight, in Game 4 between the LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets, tensions finally boiled over. At the heart of it? Aaron Gordon — the Nuggets’ MVP of the night — who didn’t just let his game do the talking. He had plenty to say about the near-brawl that almost erupted.

It all began when James Harden got annoyed after the Nuggets’ Christian Braun fouled him. Of course, no one enjoys an arm to the face, and Harden started to jaw at Braun. Soon, Nikola Jokic got involved, and so did Aaron Gordon, who got shoved by Harden. This escalation took things to another level, with Ivica Zubac stepping in to physically hold Gordon back from going at James.

After the game, when a reporter asked Gordon about his heated actions, he didn’t hesitate, laying out exactly why he reacted the way he did. “I think he was just kind of getting a little bit chippy with CB. I think CB was doing a good job pressuring him. And, you know, I can’t let can’t let nobody step to my young fella. So I was just running, giving back up. You know, this will play on basketball because I always see these teams every day or every other day, play them so many times consecutively. Like, it’s bound to get chippy. It’s bound to get agitating,” explained Gordon.

If anything, we should appreciate the officials in the game for not makings things worse. After all, Aaron isn’t wrong on this one. You’ve heard the age-old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt,” right? Well, going by Aaron’s words tonight was a perfect example. After all, these teams met 4 times in the regular season. And now they’ve played each other another 4 times since the Playoffs began. Naturally, there’s bound to be some friction between the two sides.

And you can’t really fault Aaron Gordon for standing up for his young teammate. Granted, he could have gone about it in a better way. Nonetheless, don’t let that detract from his showing tonight. Like we said earlier, he was the Nuggets’ MVP tonight. And the final play tonight? Now that was one for the ages!

Aaron Gordon steals Game 4 from the Clippers; hits 3 stars on the Horry scale

The Clippers nearly had it. They’d managed to mount an incredible comeback after being behind by 22 points. Kawhi Leonard put 10 past the Nuggets in the 4th to hand the lead to his team. The possibility of the Nuggets going 3-1 in this series looked very real. However, not demoralized in the slightest, Aaron Gordon waited for an opportunity despite the Clippers’ late success.

With a paltry few seconds left, the ball reached Nikola Jokic. If any man could answer the prayers of the Denver faithful, it was the reigning MVP. It all seemed to be over when the Serbian shot an airball. But up stepped Aaron Gordon! He showed everyone why he made it to the finals of the NBA’s dunk contest.

He grabbed the rebound and, with microseconds left on the clock, threw down a thunderous dunk. Even still, an air of uncertainty hung in the air as we waited for the video review to confirm Aaron’s heroics. And that’s exactly what happened! The shot counted, and Aaron Gordon had levelled the series for the Nuggets with his clutch dunk.

We’ve all heard of clutch, game-winning buzzer-beater threes. But a game-winning buzzer-beating dunk? Now that’s one of a kind! And Aaron’s dunk received 3 stars on the Horry scale per the NBA’s official website. For the uninitiated, the Horry scale ranks game-winning buzzer-beaters based on difficulty, game situation, and how important the play was. The scale gets its name from 8x NBA champ, Robert Horry, the man who made game-winning buzzer-beaters his calling card.

We can’t possibly understate this dunk’s importance to the Nuggets’ postseason. Gordon single-handedly stopped the Nuggets from going 3-1 down in the series and crashing out in the first round. But now, his teammates also need to step up in Game 5. They’ll need to make sure that Gordon’s efforts don’t end up being in vain. But knowing the quality within the Clippers’ lineup, this will be much easier said than done.