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The Los Angeles Clippers' fourth quarter comeback in Game 4 fell short when Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon throw down a two-hand slam dunk at the buzzer to give his team the walk-off win.
But even after multiple replays and angles shown, many are still not convinced whether the ball was in or out of Gordon's hands before the red lights turned on and the clock hit 0.0.
Aaron Gordon's controversial game-winner vs. Clippers gets referee's blunt explanation
With about three seconds on the clock in a game tied at 99-99, Nikola Jokic took a running, one-legged fadeaway three-pointer from in front of the Clippers coaching staff. The shot was very well contested by Clippers center Ivica Zubac and didn't even hit the rim.
The problem was, the shot was so off and defended so well, the airball fell right into the palms of Aaron Gordon, who quickly caught the ball and threw it down as time expired for the win.
Gordon and a few of his Nuggets teammates then ran towards their tunnel, but returned when officials began reviewing the play. The official's review, which took about four minutes of real time, ultimately showed that the ball was out of Aaron Gordon's hands when time expired.
But many replays on social media showed the ball still in his hands when the red lights around the backboard turned on and the clock hit zeroes.
Clear and Conclusive #GordonGate pic.twitter.com/zinEIzsh2J
— Jordan Miller X Account (@jordanmillerfan) April 27, 2025
Crew chief Zach Zarba spoke with ClutchPoints' Tomer Azarly following the game as part of the game's pool report, where he clarified the ruling and how the officials came to their decision on the made basket.
“We make a ruling on the floor, and the ruling on the floor from the game officials was a good basket,” Zarba said in the pool report. “It then automatically goes to the Replay Center official. The Replay Center official, after taking a good look at it, found clear and conclusive evidence that the ball was out of Gordon’s hands when the red light came on to end the game. That’s why it was ruled a good basket. The NBA Official X account is going to post a video shortly showing why the decision was made and the technology involved.”
Some confusion on social media continued on social media. “Was it Gordon's hand that they were looking at?” “Was the ball fully through the cylinder?”
Those questions were presented to Zarba, who says the officials indeed looked at the release point.
“It has to be out of his hand when that red light is on. That’s what we’re looking for. It’s not the cylinder of the rim — it’s whether it’s in contact with his hand or not when that red light comes on.”
Just seconds before halftime of Game 4, Nuggets guard Christian Braun took a foul on James Harden with one to give. Harden did not like the response and got in Braun's face. That quickly escalated into a shoving match between Clippers and Nuggets players.
James Harden didn’t like Christian Braun’s foul and the Clippers and Nuggets go at it pic.twitter.com/Fxq8brOK2H
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 26, 2025
Zach Zarba, who is now in his 21st season as an official in the NBA, discussed the altercation which resulted in six technical fouls being issued, but no ejections assessed.
“After the altercation, we went to the video review, and looking at all the angles, we felt everyone involved had an equitable role in the altercation. Due to that, they were all given equitable penalties.
“A closed fist attempt to punch someone, whether that makes contact or not, would definitely fall under an ejectable offense.”
The series will shift back to Denver now as the Nuggets will host the Clippers in Game 5 on Tuesday night. With the series tied at 2-2, history shows us that Game 5 winners are quite significant.
Since the NBA transition to a best-of-seven format for all rounds in 2003-24, teams that win Game 5 of a 2-2 best-of-seven series go on to win the series 81.3% of the time (191-44). Additionally, NBA teams that lead a best-of-seven series 3-2 go on to win the series 83.7% of the time (293-57).
Game 5 is set to tip off at 10PM EST on TNT.
