The Denver Nuggets just clawed their way to a massive Game 6 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 back in OKC! The Ball Arena was absolutely rocking as Nikola Jokic (29 points, 14 boards – just another day at the office for the Joker) and a surprisingly clutch Jamal Murray (25 points, battling illness!) willed their team to a 119-107 win. But just as Nuggets fans started to breathe a sigh of relief, a new wave of anxiety washed over them: Aaron Gordon, their defensive linchpin and athletic heart, went down late with what looked like a pretty concerning hamstring injury.
The scary moment happened with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Gordon was bringing the ball up, and OKC’s Chet Holmgren poked it loose. As AG lunged for the ball, he came up visibly gimpy, immediately reaching for and rubbing his left hamstring. You could see the concern on his face, and he was noticeably slower for nearly a minute. He stayed in before Russell Westbrook finally subbed in for him with about 53 seconds on the clock. For a player as tough as Gordon, seeing him hobble like that in a crucial playoff game is never a good sign.
After the game, Nuggets interim coach David Adelman didn’t exactly ease any fears. When asked about Gordon’s status, Adelman admitted the concern level for his starting forward was “high, obviously.” He noted the silver lining of having two full days off before Sunday’s Game 7 matinee in Oklahoma City, saying, “It’s nice to have two days to get guys right going into a Sunday matinee… We’ll see where he’s at.”
But then, just as the worry started to really set in, Aaron Gordon himself chimed in, and his message was a whole lot different. Tim MacMahon tweeted what Aaron said: “I feel OK. We’ll see. I’m going to start the recovery process now and make sure I’m getting ready for Game 7.“
(This is a developing story…)
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