Aaron Gordon says he feels proud to have successfully guarded some of the NBA ’s best players.
The 27-year-old is currently competing in the NBA Finals for the Denver Nuggets against the Miami Heat. Following his team’s 104-93 victory, the power forward joked about being able to 'lock up' LeBron James, Kevin Durant and finals opponent Jimmy Butler.
“I'll be sitting in my rocking chair when I'm 79, 90 years old, talking to my kids, like, ‘yeah, back in the day I locked these guys up,'” Gordon said. This comes after he was asked about facing Butler in the Finals and he compared defending the Miami Heat player to Durant and James, two of the all-time greats. “Jimmy is a different cover for different reasons than the guys I’ve guarded in the past like LeBron and KD,” he told ESPN ahead of game one.
The Nuggets did an excellent job of guarding Butler as the Eastern Conference Finals MVP scored just 13 points at the Ball Arena Wednesday night. He took just 14 shots and only made six of them as he struggled to impact the game in his usual manner.
The 33-year-old urged his side to attack after they shot just two free throws last night, a new NBA postseason record for the fewest taken in a game. When asked why that occurred, Butler explained: "Probably because we shot a lot of jump shots, myself probably leading that pack, instead of putting pressure on the rim.
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"Getting layups, getting to the free throw line. When you look at it during the game, they all look like the right shots. And I'm not saying that we can't as a team make those, but got to get more layups, got to get more free throws. And whenever you miss and don't get back, the game gets out of hand kind of quickly.
“We gave up too many layups, which we also can't have happen. But that's it as a whole. We've got to attack the rim a lot more, myself included." Gordon meanwhile, dominated the first quarter in particular, as he exploited the Heat’s lack of size and did the opposite of their offence as he drove to rim at will. He scored 12 of his 16 points in the game’s first 12 minutes and set the tone for his team’s victory. Blessed by the opportunity to play in the NBA Finals, he said: “I’m not here for the credit. I’m here for the wins.
Gordon guarded James during the Western Conference Finals against the LA Lakers (Harry How/Getty Images)“Playing with guys like the guys that are on this team is just a blessing. It’s a beautiful opportunity to play with guys on the team that have so much talent, have so much skill and have so much passion for the game of basketball.” One player Gordon does not have to worry about guarding is Nikola Jokic, who registered 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets.
The Serbian's assist tally set a new record for the most ever recorded by a centre in the NBA Finals and after the game, he provided glowing assessment of Gordon. "Oh, I love to play with him,” Jokic said. “I love to play with a, I want to say ‘dominant big man,’ if that makes any sense.
“The best thing he did is accept his role, and he’s really doing a great job of that. Like today he got it going. We were just getting him the ball, and he was really good in the paint.” The Nuggets will take to their floor once again in game two on Sunday night looking to extend their lead in the series.
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