National Basketball Association

A Finish For the Ages

Updated Sep. 2, 2020 12:39 p.m. ET

While Game 7 of the first round series between the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets didn't give fans the offensive fireworks most expected, it still delivered a frenetic closing sequence that won't soon be forgotten.

And if a bounce or two would have gone in Utah's favor, fans could have witnessed something that hasn't been seen since Michael Jordan prowled the hardwood.

But first, let's look at how the end of the game unfolded.

Down 80-78 in the closing seconds, Jazz star Donovan Mitchell lost the ball after some harrying defense from Gary Harris.

From there, chaos ensued. If you think that's an exaggeration, here's the Nuggets live Tweeting the sequence:

Denver guard Jamal Murray collected the loose ball and sprinted down the floor, dishing to Torrey Craig for a layup attempt that rimmed out.

Jazz center Rudy Gobert secured the rebound and found Mike Conley with just enough time for Utah's point guard to get up a potential game-winning triple at the buzzer, but the ball dove halfway in the rim before popping out.

Game, Nuggets.

And while the win capped a historic 3-1 series comeback for Denver, what could have been for the Jazz is even more tantalizing, as Nick Wright pointed out:

"I don't know if folks understand what that almost was. We have only one time ever in NBA history, in a do-or-die game, had a guy make a buzzer-beater that is: if he misses, his team's done, if he makes it his team moves on. That's the Jordan iconic shot over Craig Ehlo."

Known as simply "The Shot," Michael Jordan's game-winning bucket in Game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference First Round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers is one of – if not the – game's most memorable clutch moments in history.

Shannon Sharpe thought the Jazz were going to be in the money when Conley took the running three-pointer:

"When that ball left his hand I thought it was going in. I really did. ... So when that ball left his hand I'm like, 'Man, they just won the game by one,' and it rimmed out."

Conley's look had all of the ingredients to give fans something they hadn't seen in 31 years ⁠— a lifetime for some of the younger ones! ⁠— but the basketball gods ultimately had other ideas in mind.