Gary Harris steals the show in Game 1 with two highlight-reel plays

During the Nuggets 121-113 victory over the Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, there were certainly plenty of highlights. When Nikola Jokic pours in 37 points, there’s bound to be a few jaw-dropping moments. But it wasn’t Denver’s big man who ultimately turned in the play of the night; instead, that honor went to Gary Harris.

Toward the end of the third quarter, the guard cut baseline and caught a pass from Jokic. But when Harris rose for a layup, he found himself surrounded by two Blazers. Unable to get a shot past C.J. McCollum and Zach Collins, Harris had to improvise in midair. What came next can best be described as Jordan-esque.

The NBA provided two great angles of the play:

HOW GARY HARRIS!?! #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/A4H8pHNHAA

— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2019

While that moment certainly garnered the most attention, with every major sports outlet pushing the replay on Twitter moments after it happened, it might not have even been Harris’ best moment of the night. That came late in the fourth quarter, when he helped keep the Blazers at bay by blocking Damian Lillard’s three-point attempt. The Nuggets were up 119-110 at the time, with just under two minutes to play in the game. The rejection squelched Portland’s hopes for a late-game rally.

TNT showed the play from multiple angles:

Gary Harris DENIED Dame! 🖐👀#MileHighBasketball | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/w1AQ0Powf9

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 30, 2019

Plenty of Nuggets are receiving praise for the team’s win in Game 1. Jokic had a monster night, Jamal Murray poured in 23 and Paul Millsap provided some much-needed grittiness while chipping in with 19 points on his own. So it’s easy to overlook the 11-point night turned in by Denver’s shooting guard.

But in the end, it was his two highlight-reel moments that propelled the Nuggets to victory on Monday night.