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Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (50) dunks during the second half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) Abbie Parr |
Aaron Gordon earned a beer or two on the Nuggets’ flight home from Minnesota.
“Aaron Gordon was the WeldWerks Juicy Bits MVP of the game,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, referencing the Greeley-based brewery’s popular hazy India pale ale, after Denver’s 115-107 win over the Timberwolves on Sunday that evened the second-round series at two games apiece.
“He was incredible. He started off on Karl-Anthony Towns, switched him onto Anthony Edwards. (He was) making shots, rebounding, playmaking. He did everything. Aaron’s been just incredible for us. Got to give him a lot of love because he’s fully deserving of it.”
Malone might be inclined to share his beer of choice with his starting power forward, but that’s not Gordon’s preferred style of brew.
“I’m not an IPA guy,” Gordon said. “I’m more of a Modelo kind of guy.”
Gordon made his first 10 shots and finished 11 for 12 from the field with 27 points. He added seven rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal. The Nuggets won the 41-plus minutes Gordon played by nine points in a game Denver’s margin of victory was eight.
“He was our best player tonight. He was doing everything,” Nikola Jokic said after dropping 35 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. “He doesn’t take credit, but he’s a really big factor of us winning a championship last year and playing this good this year. Some nights he’s going to score a lot. Some nights he’s not going to score at all, and he’s good with that. That’s why he’s really good at his job.”
The Timberwolves seemed surprised by Gordon’s production. Edwards walked out of his press conference by saying Gordon’s name while shaking his head in disbelief. Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert seemed content with the looks Gordon got even though eight of his attempts came in the paint.
“A lot of them were contested so if Gordon turns into Kobe Bryant for stretches, we just got to live with that,” Gobert said.
Denver’s glue guy made all four of his shots outside the paint, including a pair of 3-pointers. Going into Tuesday’s Game 5, Gordon, a 29% 3-point shooter this regular season, is 8 of 12 from 3-point range. His ability to knock down 3s is increasingly important when the Timberwolves dare him to shoot, while Gobert floats around the rim to offer help on Jokic.
“Just looking to space the floor a little bit,” Gordon said. “I work on it every day, so eventually it’s going to drop.”
After Edwards made his first four shots and scored nine of his 44 points in the first four minutes, Malone switched Gordon off of Towns, who made just five of his 18 shots, and deployed him on one of the league’s most explosive scorers. That, coupled with his offensive performance, is worthy of a Mexican lager or two on the trip home from a hard night’s work.
“So much is being asked of him right now, and what you love about Aaron Gordon since Day 1 he put on that Nuggets uniform, it’s always been about the Nuggets first,” Malone said. “Truly selfless and really proud of Aaron Gordon for the way he’s playing and how it’s directly impacting us tying this series up.”
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