Aaron Gordon makes another early exit for Denver Nuggets due to calf injury
Aaron Gordon has already missed more than 20 games this season due to calf and ankle injuries, and he left Sunday's loss to the Thunder in the first quarter with another calf issue.
The Nuggets lost their closest thing to a second skyscraper six minutes into the game against Oklahoma City’s twin towers Sunday at Paycom Center.
Aaron Gordon exited midway through the first quarter with what the team called right calf tightness. Gordon was never officially ruled out for the remainder of the game, but he did not return. Denver’s starting power forward missed nearly four weeks after straining his right calf for the first time this season on Nov. 4.
The 29-year-old returned on Dec. 1 but strained the same muscle on Dec. 25. The second strain cost him nearly three weeks of the season. It was too early to tell the severity of Sunday’s injury minutes after Denver’s 127-103 loss to the Thunder.
“I’ve got to go back and talk to the medical staff, but he wasn’t able to return,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said postgame. “We’ll have to wait and see what they say.”
Denver raced out to a 14-3 lead in Oklahoma City and had a 16-12 advantage when Gordon left the game. He finished with 5 points on three shots with a couple of rebounds. Russell Westbrook replaced Gordon and started the third quarter in his place. That put Denver at a significant size disadvantage against an Oklahoma City starting five that features the 7-foot-1 Chet Holmgren and fellow 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein.
“He’s important in any matchup,” Nuggets guard Christian Braun said.
“He’s playing at a really high level. When you lose a guy like that in any game, you feel it.”
Braun didn’t use it as an excuse, saying the Nuggets were within reach well after Gordon left the game. Oklahoma City finished with a 54-46 advantage in points in the paint and a 56-48 edge in rebounding. Jalen Williams, who Gordon started the game defending, scored 20 of his 26 points after halftime.
“Of course, he’s a really good defender, first of all. He’s playing really good for us,” Nikola Jokic said.
“Injuries are a part of basketball. … Hopefully, he’s going to be ready.”
There’s not much time for recovery ahead of Monday’s rematch between the Nuggets and Thunder. There’s a little more than a month left in the regular season before Denver starts its playoff run. The Nuggets will want their second-biggest paint presence on the court for as much of that time as possible.
“He’s one of our best players,” Michael Porter Jr. said. “We definitely miss him when he’s out.”