DENVER (AP) – Aaron Gordon Not only Denver NuggetsA defensive stalwart, he’s a jump starter.
Gordon chased Jimmy Butler In one of his worst playoff performances Thursday night, but on the offensive end, he really ignited the Nuggets’ 104-93 victory over the Miami Heat in their first NBA Finals appearance in their 47-year history.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after Gordon worked his way past smaller defenders in the paint to score 16 points while also helping keep Butler to just 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting.
Gordon did most of his offensive work in the first quarter, scoring dozens of points on 6-of-8 shooting and hauling down four of his six rebounds, as the Nuggets emerged from a 10-day layoff to win their seventh straight game. to 13-3 in the postseason and an NBA-best 43-7 at home.
After that, he spent the rest of the night making sure Butler didn’t lead the Heat to a fourth consecutive Game 1 win on the road.
By the time the Nuggets were sung off the field by a raucous crowd, Nikola Jokic had hit another triple-double, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. had double-doubles and Denver sent the Heat to the line only twice all night—never in the Finals.
“We always talk about Nicola embodying the Nuggets culture, and I think Aaron Gordon is a prime example of someone who is really selfless,” said Malone. “He understood with Jamal and Michael back this year healthy that his role would change. He didn’t fight it once. He embraced it from day one of the season and he’s been out there, whether it’s guarding Karl-Anthony Towns, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and now obviously guarding A guy like Jimmy Butler.
“He does a lot of dirty work for us, and many times he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.”
Malone awarded the game’s Series Defensive Player of the Team to Gordon, who, sure, cashed in the kudos.
“Well, it’s a really team effort. I think the defensive guy in the game could have gone to Michael Porter as well. He really stepped up on the defensive end,” said Gordon. “We turn around a lot. Everyone helps. We are shrinking. We stop stunting for the sake of amazing. It is not just a single game. I’ve been saying that all week. It’s a team effort to slow this guy (Butler) down.”
Gordon had 14 points and five boards by the time the Nuggets entered the locker room, up 59-42 at halftime. It was the largest first half lead for Game 1 in the Finals since the Celtics jumped to a 79-49 halftime lead over the Lakers on May 27, 1985, in a 34-point defeat that has been dubbed the “Memorial Day Massacre”.
Gordon was the Nuggets’ best defender in the playoffs, doing commendable jobs over the likes of Towns, Durant and James in helping the top seeded Nuggets reach the NBA Finals.
Yes, James scored 40 points in Game 4 of the Nuggets’ last-round win, but his perfect shot at the buzzer was blocked by Murray and then blocked by Gordon.
Gordon, who used to be Orlando’s first scoring option, has played a smaller offensive role in Denver behind three max-contract players — Jokic, Murray and Porter — following his 2021 trade to the Nuggets, and Agnes this season as MPJ (at running back) and running back Murray (knee). ) of injuries.
“There’s really no way to describe how important he is to our team,” Porter said.
Maybe Gordon remembered that D-Wade gave him a 9?
It was definitely enough for him to do that in the Finals but it had to be especially sweet to do it against the Heat. Gordon lost the 2020 NBA Slam Dunk Contest to Miami forward Derrick Jones Jr.
Gordon thought he had the victory on his final dunk when he pulled the 7-foot-5 rookie Taco out of the crowd and had Val holding the ball over his head before jumping on top of him and completing the dunk. However, three of the five judges scored nine instead of 10, handing the title over to Jones – and one of those judges was Dwyane Wade.
Gordon was traded to Denver the following season and took a back seat in the Nuggets’ star-studded offense—until Thursday night when he starred at both ends of the field.
In the end, Gordon was more praised for his work on Butler than his half-dozen first-quarter baskets that got the Nuggets to work.
“I thought he did a great job with that challenge of guarding a guy like Jimmy Butler,” said Malone.
After extending his NBA record with his ninth triple-double of these playoffs, Jokic also praised Gordon’s game.
“Oh, I love playing with him. I’d love to play with some — I want to say dominant big guys, if that makes sense — but the best thing to do is accept his role, and he really does a great job at that,” Jokic said.
“Like today, he got it. We just got him the ball, and he was really good in the paint today. He’s probably the best defender we’ve got, him and KCP, and just to play defense all game on MVP, I think it’s really hard to do.”
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