The Nuggets forward produced a clutch play for the ages as Denver outlasted the Los Angeles Clippers 101-99 in a NBA playoffs thriller on Sunday morning. ESPN on Kayo Sports brings you the best of the NBA Playoffs including every game of the NBA Conference Finals & NBA Finals LIVE | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. The Nuggets looked on track for a comfortable win with a 20-point lead heading into the final quarter, but the Clippers rallied as Denver’s starters, all of which played over 40 minutes, tired down the stretch. But Denver had one final chance to win and left it until literally the last millisecond as Aaron Gordon somehow found the energy to fly for the dunk on a Jokic 3-point attempt. It was a fitting end to the game as Gordon, who was involved in a heated moment with James Harden right before halftime, was booed on multiple occasions in the second half by the Clippers fans. The Nuggets, who were blown out by 34 points in Game 3 and without key bench piece Russell Westbrook, bounced back off the back of a standout third quarter from Jokic. The Serbian superstar finished the game with 36 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists. Even in a loss, Australian Ben Simmons was once again a surprise shining light for the Clippers. Simmons had an underwhelming game if you went off the box score alone (2 points, 1 block, 1 turnover) but it didn’t tell the full story of just how valuable he was in the first quarter. Clippers coach Ty Lue credited Simmons with “changing the game” with his four-minute stint on Thursday and once again, the Australian was particularly effective on the defensive end. Out of the timeout, Simmons made an immediate impact matched up against Jokic, using his length to force the two-time MVP into a tough mid-range shot which came up short. Simmons then pounced after Harden forced a turnover from the Nuggets, scooping up the ball and dunking it home. The Australian later capped off an impactful first stint by navigating through a Jokic screen and reading a Jamal Murray pass, getting his hands to the ball and forcing it out of bounds. With just over three seconds on the clock, it was a smart play that gave the Nuggets little time to work with on the clock and Denver subsequently committed a shot clock violation. Despite that, a Clippers turnover undid all of Simmons’ good work, gifting Denver one final possession and the Nuggets expertly executed the sideline-out-of-bounds play to set up a Jokic triple on the buzzer. That left the score at 27-22 in Denver’s favour at the end of the first quarter after the Nuggets led by as many as nine points, capitalising on a shaky shooting start from the Clippers, who were uncharacteristically poor with their finishing at the rim early. Simmons got his first rest early in the second quarter after a stellar four minutes, which saw the three-time All-Star hustling to make multiple efforts on defence in a reminder of just how talented a defender he is and could have been without the injuries. Unfortunately for him and the Clippers, given how effective he had been, Simmons quickly racked up three fouls but given L.A. had been using him for around eight minutes in each game during the series it wasn’t too much of an issue. As expected, Simmons didn’t go back into the game before halftime as the Nuggets took a 50-48 lead into the third quarter. It was a solid result for the Clippers given neither Leonard (nine points) nor Harden (six points) had been at their best, with the L.A. bench (14) easily outscoring Denver (two). In keeping with the first three game of the series, Simmons was brought on as the Clippers’ back-up big for the final four minutes of the third quarter with the Nuggets leading 67-60. Knowing Simmons already had three fouls, Jokic immediately got physical with him and drew another foul. Simmons’ presence did little to help turn the game in the Clippers’ favour this time around, with a Christian Braun triple opening up a 76-60 lead late in the third for the Nuggets. Denver took a 85-65 lead into the fourth quarter but Westbrook’s absence and the lack of production from the bench meant interim coach David Adelman had to rely on the starters to get the job done. Instead, they grew visibly exhausted as the quarter wore on while the Clippers started to catch fire and rallied to reduce Denver’s lead to 96-95 entering the final two minutes. The Clippers had 10 points off turnovers at that point, having outscored Denver 30-11 in the period, to put themselves one bucket away from taking their first lead of the game. Bogdan Bogdanovic hustled for the offensive rebound to score and do just that, but when his team needed him most Jokic produced a stunning double spin move to shoot over Ivica Zubac and put Denver ahead 99-97 with 16.1 seconds left. Zubac got one back on the next possession though as he tipped it in to tie up the game. But with eight seconds on the clock and a timeout in hand, Denver had a chance to escape with the win and it was the most incredible of escapes as Gordon flew for the winning dunk. SGA MAKES MVP STATEMENT AS JA-LESS GRIZZLIES COME UP SHORT Earlier, the Oklahoma City Thunder, fuelled by 38 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, held off the Memphis Grizzlies 117-115 to complete a 4-0 sweep in their NBA Western Conference playoff series and become the first team to reach the second round. Jalen Williams added 23 points for the Thunder, who were pushed to the wire by the desperate Grizzlies despite the absence of star Ja Morant, who was ruled out with a hip contusion suffered in game three. Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 30 points and Santi Aldama and Desmond Bane had 23 points each for the Grizzlies, who trailed by 12 with 3:37 to play but closed within two with 7.1 seconds remaining, only to come up short. After the first three games featured a total of four lead changes, the teams traded the lead 15 times in the first three quarters, the Thunder taking an 88-85 lead into the final period. The Grizzlies were within two with 9:14 to play, but Oklahoma City put together a 10-2 scoring run to take the first double-digit lead of the game and, without Morant, Memphis just didn’t have enough to extend the best-of-seven series. HEAT HANDED WORST PLAYOFF DEFEAT IN FRANCHISE HISTORY Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers throttled Miami 124-87, handing the Heat the worst playoff defeat in franchise history to take a 3-0 stranglehold on their Eastern Conference first-round series. The top-seeded Cavs shook off the absence of All-Star guard Darius Garland and a relatively quiet 13-point game from Donovan Mitchell to reach the brink of a playoff sweep, the Heat unable to capitalise as the series shifted to Miami after they dropped the first two games in Cleveland. Jarrett Allen scored 22 points and D’Andre Hunter added 21 off the bench as six Cavs players scored in double figures. The Heat, well aware that no NBA team has rallied from 3-0 down to win a playoff series, got off to a fast start and led by nine midway through the first quarter. But the Cavs weathered the storm and were up by 13 by the end of the first quarter, their lead never dipping below double digits the rest of the way. “We just came out with energy,” said newly named Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, who chipped in 19 points. “We took the first punch and from there we just took the game over.” Ty Jerome scored 13 off the bench and handed out 11 assists -- a playoff record for a Cavaliers reserve. Bam Adebayo scored 22 points to lead the Heat, but the 37-point margin of defeat was the Heat’s worst ever in the post-season. It surpassed a 36-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs in game three of the 2013 NBA Finals -- when the Heat went on to win the title. “Clearly a very disappointing day,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. The Cavs will have their first chance to close out the series on Tuesday. Originally published as ‘One of the craziest things I’ve seen’: Buzzer beater for the ages rocks NBA