MIAMI − Nikola Jokic didn’t have a triple-double.
Jamal Murray didn’t score 30-plus points.
But Aaron Gordon scored a playoff career-high 27 points and had seven rebounds and six assists, and when Jokic went to the bench with five fouls early in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets faced a moment of truth.
They emerged with a 108-95 victory against the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, putting Denver up 3-1.
Gordon is part of a thriving team that is playing great basketball at the right time and on the cusp of the franchise’s first NBA championship.
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“Aaron did it all for us tonight. He really did,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “We’ve seen that now in four games in the Finals where Aaron has had moments where he has carried us offensively. He made threes tonight (3-for-4), obviously, which is always a good thing, but I couldn’t be more proud of Aaron Gordon and his impact across the board.”
Denver made this possible because of several contributions. Jokic did his job with 23 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals, and Murray had 15 points, 12 assists and zero turnovers, reaching at least 10 assists in every game of the Finals.
But it also doesn’t happen without Bruce Brown’s 21 points and Gordon’s effort in 42 minutes. He was 11-for-15 from the field, made 3-of-4 3-pointers and hit two free throws. Just like in Game 1 when Gordon had 16 points, he took advantage of the size mismatch he owns against Miami.
“This team does a good job finding the people that are kind of in a rhythm and kind of going,” Gordon said. “When it comes down to it, it’s just wanting to be great for my teammates. I know when my teammates need me, and just doing it for my brothers.”
Jokic and Murray form an excellent 1-2 combo, but Gordon and Jokic and Gordon and Murray have nice two-man games, too, in their own way. Of Gordon’s 11 made baskets, three were on assists from Jokic and three on assists from Murray.
Gordon often plays offense in that dunker spot along the baseline near the backboard. Denver can throw him bounce passes and alley-oops, and the Nuggets are also comfortable letting Gordon initiate the offense, especially when he gets a defensive rebound.
“As far as the offensive side, it was just get in where I fit in, find cuts, find openings, find transition buckets, try and get easy ones,” he said.
Championship teams aren’t built overnight. Gordon wasn’t part of Denver’s team that reached the conference finals in the 2020 bubble, but it acquired him in a trade with Orlando the next season at the 2021 trade deadline.
“That’s why we got him,” Murray said. “He’s a dog. He’s strong. He’s physical. He’s tough. He’s chill. He brings everybody together off the court, and he’s a selfless player. He’s been solid this whole playoffs, this whole season, the whole time he’s been here. He’s been great.”
Gordon was a bigger offensive weapon when he played for the Magic, averaging a career-high 17.6 points in 2017-18. But he knew he had to sacrifice points when he arrived in Denver. That was OK with him.
In the 2023 playoffs, Gordon has defended Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and Miami’s Jimmy Butler. It has been a grueling assignment but one Gordon has passed.
“I felt like I was going to be a defender for this team, a defenseman for this team,” he said. “I knew they could score. MPJ (Michael Porter Jr.), one of the best shooters on earth. You’ve got a two-time MVP in Joker who can do everything on offense. You’ve got Jamal Murray who can go for 50 on any given night. I knew I was coming in to play defense and make their job easy.
“That’s what I like to do. I like to play defense. That’s my niche. That’s how I came into the league, defensive-minded.”
In the Finals, Gordon averages 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and shoots 66.7% from the field and 71.4% on 3-pointers. He leads the Nuggets in plus-minus, with Denver outscoring Miami by 53 points with Gordon on the court through four games.
He won’t win MVP if the Nuggets win the series, but if the Nuggets win the title, they don’t do it without Gordon.
“It was nice just knowing that I could be myself, and that was enough,” he said. “I didn’t have to be any more or any less. That was cool. I get to just do what the team asks of me, and sometimes it’s score, sometimes it’s rebound, sometimes it’s defend the best player, sometimes it’s make plays. It could be something different on any given night, but every night I get to just be myself.”
