Tag: aaron gordon

Denver Nuggets 2023 NBA championship parade highlights

Denver Nuggets 2023 NBA championship parade highlights:

Denver Nuggets win 2023 NBA championship

Via ESPN.com:

In the biggest game in Denver Nuggets history, veteran DeAndre Jordan had a second-half message for Jamal Murray during a timeout.

“Go win this game,” Jordan was heard saying on the broadcast. “Twelve minutes bro and you in history.

“Immortal.”

Murray, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets heeded the call for history, doing what they have done this entire magical postseason and adapting to any obstacle or defensive wrinkle thrown their way.

After opening Monday night’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals missing an abysmal 20 of their first 22 3-point attempts, the Nuggets came up with championship-winning plays in the final minutes.

From Jokic’s basket inside with 2:24 left to Bruce Brown’s putback with 1:31 to go, to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s steal off a Jimmy Butler pass with 27.1 seconds left, the Nuggets came up with all the big plays to win their first-ever NBA championship with a hard-fought 94-89 win over the Miami Heat at an overjoyed Ball Arena.

Via ESPN.com:

Nikola Jokic might not have won this third straight Most Valuable Player award this season, but he still ended up with an MVP trophy after all.

In addition to finally getting the championship he has coveted, Jokic was named NBA Finals MVP after the Denver Nuggets eliminated the Miami Heat, 94-89, in Game 5 at Ball Arena.

Jokic closed out Miami with 28 points, 16 rebounds and four assists to help the Nuggets win the franchise’s first-ever NBA title. Like each opponent the Nuggets faced this postseason, the Heat had very little answers for Jokic.

When asked how it feels to be an NBA champion, Jokic told ESPN’s Lisa Salters on the court: “It’s good. It’s good. The job is done, and we can go home now.”

Prior to this championship run, Jokic, 28, was already considered one of the best players of his generation. But now that he has won a championship and a Finals MVP, one NBA Hall of Famer says this catapults the Serbian big man into a different stratosphere.

Nikola Jokic leads Denver Nuggets to their first-ever NBA Finals trip

Via the Denver Post:

Nikola Jokic stood near halfcourt and unleashed a roar that had been years in the making.

Late in the fourth quarter of Monday’s gripping Game 4, after one of Jokic’s sublime dimes found Aaron Gordon for a dunk, Jokic screamed at the history he and the Nuggets were approaching. Not four minutes later, in front of championship banners that Denver had only been allowed to dream about, the Nuggets seized the Western Conference crown over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-111.

Their victory punched Denver’s first-ever trip to the NBA Finals by virtue of its first-ever playoff sweep in franchise history.

As James drove to the hoop in the final seconds, Jamal Murray got his hands on the ball in an attempt to thwart James. At the same time, Aaron Gordon soared over and blocked the ball. Game over, and Denver’s reserves stormed the court.

“We got four more wins to go,” Murray said.

Jokic, named the Western Conference Finals MVP, finished with a 30-point, 14-rebound, 13-assist triple-double, setting an NBA record with his eighth in the postseason.

FULL ARTICLE

Magic trade Aaron Gordon and Gary Clark to Nuggets for Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton and draft pick

The Orlando Magic have acquired guard Gary Harris, guard R.J. Hampton, and a future first round draft pick in a trade with the Denver Nuggets for forward Aaron Gordon and forward Gary Clark, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.

“R.J. (Hampton) and Gary (Harris) will provide great depth to our backcourt,” said Weltman. “R.J. is a bright, young player that brings speed and athleticism, while Gary provides a solid veteran presence. We are happy to welcome R.J. and Gary to the Magic family.”

“We also want to thank Aaron (Gordon) for everything he has given to the organization during the last seven years, both on the court and in the community,” Weltman added. “We wish Aaron good luck as he continues his career.”

Hampton (6’6”, 176, 2/7/01) has played in 25 games this season with Denver, averaging 2.6 ppg. and 2.0 rpg. in 9.3 minpg. He was originally selected in the first round (24th overall) of the 2020 NBA Draft by Milwaukee, then acquired on draft night by Denver as part of a four-team trade for a conditional first round draft pick.

Hampton spent the 2019-20 season in Australia, playing with the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL. He played in 15 games, averaging 8.8 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 1.4 apg. and 1.18 stlpg. in 20.6 minpg. Hampton originally intended to play college basketball in 2019-20 after reclassifying into the 2019 high school recruiting class. He averaged 32.0 ppg., 9.7 rpg.. 6.4 apg. and 3.9 stlpg. at Little Elm High School in Little Elm, Texas. Hampton won gold medals with USA Basketball at the 2017 FIBA U-16 Americas Championship and the 2018 FIBA U-17 Basketball World Cup.

Hampton will wear #13 with the Orlando Magic.

Harris (6”4”, 205, 9/14/94) has played and started in 19 games this season with Denver, averaging 9.7 ppg., 2.5 rpg. and 1.7 apg. in 30.6 minpg. He has led (or tied) the Nuggets in scoring once and in assists once. Harris has scored in double figures 12 times and 20+ points once, including a season-high 21 points on Jan. 9 @ Philadelphia.

Originally selected in the first round (19th overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft by Chicago, Harris has appeared in 387 career NBA regular season games (325 starts), all with Denver, averaging 12.0 ppg., 2.6 rpg., 2.1 apg. and 1.23 stlpg. in 29.1 minpg., while shooting .801 (594-742) from the free throw line. He has also played in 28 career NBA playoff games (26 starts), averaging 10.8 ppg., 3.1 rpg., 2.0 apg. and 1.00 stlpg. in 32.0 minpg.

Harris will wear #14 with the Orlando Magic.

Gordon (6’9”, 235, 9/16/95) played and started in 25 games this season with Orlando, averaging 14.6 ppg., 6.6 rpg. and 4.2 apg. in 29.4 minpg., while shooting .375 (42-112) from three-point range. Originally selected in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft by Orlando, he has played in 428 career NBA regular season games (339 starts), all with the Magic, averaging 12.9 ppg., 6.4 rpg. and 2.5 apg. in 28.6 minpg.

Clark (6’6”, 225, 11/16/94) played in 35 games (11 starts) this season with Orlando, averaging 3.4 ppg. and 3.2 rpg. in 18.2 minpg. Undrafted by an NBA franchise, he has played in 128 career NBA regular season games (18 starts) with Houston and Orlando, averaging 3.3 ppg. and 2.6 rpg. in 14.4 minpg.

Aaron Gordon dealing with sore ankles

Super-athletic Aaron Gordon is one of the key young members of the Orlando Magic. Through three preseason games, Gordon is averaging 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per game. He’s shooting just 31% FG, though it’s not worth paying too much attention to field goal percentage when we’re only talking about a few games worth of shots. Still, it’s been a  modest preseason for him. Here’s the Orlando Sentinel with the latest:

Aaron Gordon dealing with sore ankles

Magic SF Aaron Gordon is dealing with soreness in both ankles and sat out Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Gordon, though, said he expected to play Thursday night against the New Orleans Pelicans at Amway Center, Orlando’s final preseason game of 2016-17.

Gordon severely sprained his left ankle weeks before training camp, but in compensating for that injury, he has experienced some soreness in the right one now, too.

Gordon said his left ankle was hurting “so I compensated on my right one. They’re just sore.”