Michael Malone was transported back to the bubble as the Timberwolves scooped up the remnants of another deflating missed layup and advanced up the left side of the floor. Mike Conley even caught the ball in the same spot on the wing.
He was wearing a Utah Jazz jersey when his ill-fated shot rimmed out at the buzzer five years ago, preserving the Nuggets’ Game 7 win in the first round of the playoffs. Overcome by some combination of joy and relief, the Nuggets celebrated in a sterile environment.
This time, a capacity crowd at Ball Arena was too loud to register the plot twist after the ball worked its way from Conley to Anthony Edwards to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, whose 3-pointer was no good at the buzzer, sparking a split-second rolling tide of the same emotions.
The fans thought they’d won.
Down on the court, the Nuggets knew better.
Russell Westbrook fouled Alexander-Walker on his 3-point attempt with 0.1 seconds left in double overtime, sending the Minnesota guard to the foul line to steal a 140-139 win from Denver. The foul occurred at the end of a hectic sequence in which Westbrook snatched what appeared to be a game-clinching steal, only to miss an uncontested layup at the end of a 2-on-1 fast break (reminiscent of Torrey Craig’s against the 2020 Jazz).
“It’s basketball,” said Nikola Jokic, who amassed 61 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. “I’m pretty sure that (Westbrook) didn’t want to make a foul or whatever. It happens.”
The Nuggets (47-29) possess only a half-game cushion for third place in the Western Conference after the loss, a result that also came at the expense of 53 minutes played by Jokic.
“We trust (Westbrook) to take that shot 100 out of 100 times,” Christian Braun said. “So that’s not what lost us the game.”
“He’s a guy that hates to lose. … He’s a perfectionist and he’s a competitor,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “And knowing Russ the way I do, he’s probably gonna put a lot of this on him. But we lost tonight. The Denver Nuggets. We, as a collective group, lost that game tonight. Not one player.”
The Nuggets were ahead by one point when Westbrook went in for the layup. Malone recalled the Game 7 ending when asked if he was OK with Westbrook and Christian Braun looking to score instead of pulling the ball out.
“It’s a tough one,” Malone said. “It reminded me of the play in the bubble. Same situation. … Tonight, it’s tough. You’ve got a 2-on-1 break. As a coach, am I up on the sideline yelling, ‘Don’t go’? I mean, we’ve got a layup. But it’s easy to say that in hindsight because we missed a layup. And they wound up getting three free throws at the end. That was a really crucial stretch of the game.”
Westbrook did not comment on the ending, as he was no longer in the home locker room when reporters were allowed to enter.
“He’s a pro. He’s a warrior. He’s a tough kid,” Malone said. “And I think he knows that everybody in that locker room has got his back.”
After initially calling the foul against Westbrook, the officials went to the monitor to review whether it happened before the final buzzer. “The illegal contact occurred at 0.1 (seconds),” crew chief Sean Wright said in a pool report. “Therefore, 0.1 is then put on the clock, and you shoot the three free throws and play with that time.”
Moments earlier, a loose-ball foul had been called against Minnesota during a jump ball in a tie game, sending Jokic to the line. He made one of two, setting up the wild finish. Aaron Gordon said afterward that the Timberwolves were complaining about the loose-ball foul because “they didn’t want (referee) CJ (Washington) to make a foul call to decide the game.”
“But the thing about that is,” Gordon continued, “it doesn’t matter if he makes a foul call to decide the game if it’s in their favor. So you would have liked to not see it come down to the referees making a call. But they call it like they see it.”
Ironically, due to league rules, the crew did not have the ability to review a crucial out-of-bounds play. Officials expressed uncertainty after the ball appeared to be last touched by Minnesota, leading them to declare the jump ball. Unlike the NCAA, the NBA doesn’t allow replay reviews on out-of-bounds calls at the end of games.
If it had been ruled Denver’s ball, the Nuggets would have had possession in a tie game with the shot clock turned off.
“Both teams were out of challenges at the time of the out-of-bounds,” Wright said. “Therefore, you can’t review it.”
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