The Denver Nuggets are one win away from their first NBA title in franchise history after they defeated the Miami Heat 108-95 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Miami on Friday night to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Game 5 is Monday night in Denver.
Denver, who won their fifth straight road playoff game, played a good portion of the fourth without Nikola Jokic due to foul trouble. With Jokic on the bench, the Nuggets, who led most of the game, got some big buckets from Jamal Murray(15 points and 12 assists) and Bruce Brown(11 of his 21 points in the fourth).
However, it wasn’t Jokic(23 points and 12 rebounds) or Murray that led the way; it was Aaron Gordon! He had a game-high 27 points(11/15 FG, 3/4 3 PT FG) with seven rebounds and six assists.
Gordon came to Denver in 2021 via a trade from the Magic, and he was able to fit right into what the Nuggets are doing. Gordon has defended Jimmy Butler throughout this series and has done a lot of dirty work for this team.
“I felt like I was going to be a defender for this team, a defenseman for this team,” Gordon said. “I knew they could score. MPJ, one of the best shooters on earth. You’ve got a two-time MVP in Joker that can do everything on offense. You’ve got Jamal Murray, that 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.
Nuggets Michael Malone was proud of Gordon, who scored 15 of his 27 points in the second quarter.
“Aaron did it all for us tonight,” he said. “He really did. 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, obviously, which is always a good thing, but I couldn’t be more proud of Aaron Gordon and his impact across the board tonight.
Jokic is impressed with the sacrifices Gordon has to make to fit in with the Nuggets.
“You know, he’s playing a different role, and that’s why he sacrificed himself, and that’s why he’s a great teammate, and that’s why he won us the game today,” Jokic said about Gordon. “I think if you sacrifice yourself for something bigger than yourself, the team, whatever, he sacrifices himself, and that’s why I think the one upstairs gave him the game today, gave him the game that he had. He was our best player on the floor, and guarding the best player every night, that’s a tough job, and maybe he’s not going to get a lot of credit, but we know what he’s doing for our team, and we’re really thankful for him, and we appreciate him a lot.”
Murray says Gordon was brought to Denver to do what he’s doing now.
“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. He just wants to win. We all want to win. I think we’re all helping each other try to accomplish our goals.”
The Nuggets are a cohesive unit, which is one of the reasons they are one game away from an NBA championship.
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