This is why Aaron Gordon’s last second basket in Game 4 against the Clippers was ruled valid: The rule explained

The Denver Nuggets tied their Round 1 series against the LA Clippers with a dramatic late victory on Saturday.

The scores were level at 99-99 with just seconds remaining and the ball in the hands of the talismanic Nikola Jokic. Facing tight coverage, Jokic found space for a looping shot that looked destined to float just wide of the basket.

But with less than a second left in the game Aaron Gordon rose highest in the paint to deliver a last-second putback dunk. Gordon and his teammates raced off in celebration but the Clippers players protested to officials. Why were they complaining?

NBA rules dictate that the ball must have left the player’s hand before the buzzer sounds. The ‘Trent Tucker Rule’ rules out any shot that is taken with under 0.3 seconds left on the shot clock. The Clippers were claiming that Gordon was still in the process of dunking the ball when the buzzer went.

A series of video replays were required to established exactly what had happened but eventually officials were able to assert that Gordon had made his decisive play in time. Those two points gave the Nuggets a 101-99 win and ensures that the series is level at 2-2.

It was Gordon who stole the show with his late heroics but it was another virtuoso display from Jokic, at the heart of everything for the Nuggets. He put up 36 points, 21 rebounds and 8 assists for his team to reassert his reputation as one of the league’s most dominant players.

The two teams meet again on Tuesday (10pm ET, 7pm PT) at Denver’s Ball Arena.

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