Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon shines as super-utility player vs. Lakers

LOS ANGELES — Listening to Aaron Gordon talk about himself, you’d think he was simply another cog in the Nuggets’ finely tuned machine.

While teammates and fans gush when Gordon tears down an offensive rebound and follows up with a power dunk, the blue-collar forward sees it as a gritty part of his job.

“I’m just lurking on the baseline, trying to clean up all the garbage,” he said.

When Gordon is described as the catalyst that spurred Denver to a 3-0 lead in its first-round playoff series vs. the Lakers, he counters with a self-effacing reaction.

“I’m a utility guy. I do a bit of everything. Do a little bit of a lot,” he said after the Nuggets’ 112-105 Game 3 victory at Crypto.com Arena. “And I just take what the game gives me. However it comes across during the game, it doesn’t really matter to me. I just care about that end result.”

Utility guy? That is an apt description, although “super” is a needed addition. Garbage collector? Hardly. Indispensable? There is no question about it.

Gordon’s dynamic play is a big reason the Nuggets entered Saturday night’s game with a chance to sweep Los Angeles out of the playoffs for the second straight year.

During the second half of the Nuggets’ thrilling Game 2 comeback victory, Gordon was ordered to slow down Anthony Davis, the Lakers’ red-hot scoring machine. Gordon held Davis without a made basket for the final 19 minutes of the game.

In Thursday night’s Game 3, Gordon scored a playoff career-best 29 points and snared 15 rebounds. The Lakers have been unable to keep him off the offensive glass in any of the games.

“You look at his performance (Thursday) night and his impact and it tells you what you need to know,” coach Michael Malone said Friday after the Nuggets studied video in preparation for Game 4.

“You look at his scoring, his rebounding, his playmaking, his toughness and his physicality,” Malone continued. “He’s been asked to guard LeBron James and Anthony Davis for 40-plus minutes a night.

“What you love about Aaron Gordon is that there is never any complaining. He just goes out there and does his job. I think he is a terrific embodiment of being truly selfless.”

Guard Peyton Watson echoed Malone’s praise.

“Aaron is a star in his role,” Watson said. “He’s the best utility guy you could ask for. He does so many things for our team: initiates plays, rebounds, defends, scores. He’s special. He brought an amazing energy (to Game 3), I thought. That’s the type of energy I think that we needed.”

Gordon was traded from Orlando to Denver in March 2021. The Nuggets sent Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton and a protected 2025 first-round draft pick to the Magic in exchange for Gordon and Gary Clark. Malone calls it one of the best trades in Nuggets history.

It’s certainly hard to argue otherwise, especially during these past two seasons when he’s locked down the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler, LeBron and AD in the playoffs.

Gordon rarely forces a shot from the outside. He knows his presence is needed in the paint — as a rebounder, passer and scorer. Against the Lakers on Thursday night, he dominated in the paint. He took 18 shots, and only one came from beyond the arc. But he often kicks the ball out to Michael Porter Jr. for 3-pointers.

“That’s my boy on and off the court,” Porter said. “We’ve definitely got a connection, and he’s an easy target to find. You can throw the ball anywhere. He’s gonna get it. He’s gonna go up strong. Dunk it, probably. And then he’s always looking for me, whether it’s transition, whatever it is. He knows the type of shots I’m capable of hitting, and I know where he feels comfortable as well. So we’re definitely looking for each other.”