NBA Finals Game 4: Denver Nuggets on brink of title after Aaron Gordon stars in win at Miami Heat
- One win separates Nuggets from their first championship following 108-95 triumph on Friday night
- Denver could clinch the title at home on Monday after Gordon’s 27 points – the best playoff effort of his career – help give them 3-1 lead
Two nights after Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray put on historic performances, neither player was the key cog for the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Aaron Gordon stepped up with the top playoff effort of his nine-year career as he recorded 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists to help the Nuggets move within one victory of their first title with a 108-95 victory over the host Miami Heat on Friday night.
Jokic and Murray were the first teammates in NBA history to have 30-point triple-doubles in Denver’s Game 3 victory. However, neither star was as important in Game 4 as Gordon, who stepped up with 11-of-15 shooting – including three-of-four success from three-point range – as the Nuggets took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“I mean, that’s just how this team is built,” Gordon said of taking the starring role. “We have guys that can step up night in and night out. Sometimes it’s not going to be your night, and sometimes it is going to be your night. This team does a good job finding people who are in a rhythm.”
Nuggets coach Michael Malone gushed about Gordon’s effort.