Aaron Gordon embraced dirty work and a cerebral reexamination of basketball, enlightened by Nikola Jokic. His gratitude for that transformation was so immense that he once bought Jokic a massive

The Denver Nuggets upset the Oklahoma City Thunder, 121-119, on Monday night thanks to a game-winning three-pointer by Aaron Gordon, and now hold a 1-0 series lead in their Western Conference semifinal matchup.

That is how Aaron Gordon reacted to Nikola Jokic fouling out in the third period for the first time in his career. That it came in Game 2 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the top-seeded Thunder made it even more exasperating.