The Denver Nuggets' season ended on Sunday after a blowout loss to the top-seed Oklahoma City Thunder, 125-93.
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The Nuggets took the Thunder to the brink of elimination and came out for Game 7 with the right mindset. However, that quickly turned in the second quarter after an avalanche that was the Thunder on both sides of the ball. Oklahoma City scored 39 points in the second quarter and 37 points in the third quarter to put the game away.
The Thunder also held the Nuggets to 46 points in those two quarters. There was very little the Nuggets, including their star guard Aaron Gordon, could do.
Gordon entered the game with a Game 2 hamstring strain, but he still gave it a go. His performance was fine, but not good enough to lead his team to victory. There was doubt that he would even be on the floor.
Nonetheless, he gave it a go, even though Gordon's superstar teammate, Nikola Jokic, disagreed. After the loss, Jokic admitted that he told Gordon not to play Game 7.
"I told him to not play," Jokić told reporters. "You can injure yourself even worse. You can see that he was struggling a little bit, hard to move and this and that. He went out there and fought with us and we can just appreciate that."
Gordon did his part in the game, but it was clear that Jokic was thinking about his teammate's long-term future instead of the short term.
Gordon, 29, finished the game with eight points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Hours before tip-off, word spread that Gordon was doubtful to play and that this injury would take weeks to recover from.
Although Gordon played, that still remains the case.
In the series and playoffs, Gordon proved to be the X-factor. In the seven-game series against the Thunder, he averaged 13.6 points per game, 9.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists, while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 44.1 percent from three in 35.7 minutes of action.
As for the playoffs, his numbers were way better than they were during the regular season. Gordon averaged 16.2 points per game, 7.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.6 steals in 37.3 minutes.
As things stand, Gordon is expected to be a Nugget for a long time to come as he is under contract until the 2028-29 season.
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This story was originally published May 19, 2025 at 2:27 PM.