All night long, the Denver Nuggets were fighting an uphill battle against the heavily favored Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their second-round matchup. Seemingly every time the Nuggets were making a run, the Thunder had an answer.

But the Nuggets remained poised, kept within striking distance, and managed to steal Game 1, 121-119, thanks to an epic game-winning triple from Aaron Gordon.

The Thunder had a chance to, at best, extend the lead to three, and with the Nuggets having no timeouts remaining, that would have made it difficult for them to get a good look at a game-tying basket.

But then Chet Holmgren proceeded to miss two free throws, Christian Braun rebounded the ball and threw it out in semi-transition to Russell Westbrook, who then made an excellent read to throw it out to Gordon, who had the stones to pull up from three despite being down by just one — and it swished through the net.

The Thunder still had a chance at a Hail Mary with 2.8 seconds remaining on the clock, but Jalen Williams' prayer wasn't answered, and now the Nuggets have taken a 1-0 lead in this best-of-seven series.

OKC simply may not have played their cards right in the end. They fouled the Nuggets while up by three even though Nikola Jokic was not out on the court and allowed him to come back into the game.

Holmgren is also to blame for missing two free throws. But the biggest story of the game is how Gordon continues to be unfazed in the biggest moments of the game as this is his second game-winner of this year's playoffs.

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Nuggets have plenty of gas left in the tank

Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (32) shoots a three point basket to win
© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Coming off a bloodbath of a first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers, many thought that the Nuggets would be running on fumes by now, especially in Game 1 against the Thunder. But they showed their championship pedigree and didn't allow the game to get away from them, and Aaron Gordon hit paydirt with his incredible game-winning triple.

The Nuggets simply would not go away. With 4:31 remaining in the ballgame, the Thunder went up by 11, 113-102, courtesy of a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander midranger.

But Denver inched closer and closer after mounting one defensive stop after another, but it looked like their admirable effort was going to come up just short after they missed two shots — a triple try from Westbrook and a blocked putback attempt from Gordon — while down one, 115-114.

But this team has clearly been rejuvenated over the past month or so, and there's no way anyone will be counting the Nuggets out — especially after tonight's bonkers turn of events.