The safe play — with the ball and up one with :28.2 seconds left in the game — is to slow up, dribble it out, and make the other team foul you while eating up clock.
Safe is boring — the Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon went for the hammer and threw down the Dunk of the Year over the Suns’ Landry Shamet.
Watch every angle ⬇️
— NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2022
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Gordon was initially called for an offensive foul on the dunk, but when the officials went to the replay to determine if Shamet was in the restricted area it threw the entire play into review. After looking at the video, the officials decided Shamet was leaning to try and get the charge and that Gordon scored and got the and-1.
Gordon had seven dunks on the night and finished with 28 points, while Jamal Murray added 26 (14 in the fourth). Shamet led the Suns with 31, having to take on extra minutes when Devin Booker left the game four minutes in due to a groin injury (he had missed the previous three games with that injury but tried to give it a go on Christmas). Without Booker the Suns showed real fight, but Denver got the 128-125 win in overtime and is now in sole possession of first place in the West.