The night went sideways for Denver in a hurry, and Aaron Gordon’s double technical foul became the clearest snapshot of it.
With the Nuggets trailing the Warriors 107-91, Christian Braun was called for a push off on Stephen Curry. Denver needed the next possession to go cleanly, but Gordon was furious with the ruling and let the officials know it.
That protest brought the first technical. Then, after pointing toward an official, he picked up a second technical and was tossed just seconds later.
Before the ejection, Gordon’s own line already told the story of a rough evening. He played 25 minutes and finished with seven points on 2-of-10 shooting. For a Denver team that does not have much depth to lean on, losing him in that moment only deepened the hole.
The Nuggets were already playing without Cameron Johnson and Julian Strawther, which was supposed to put more scoring weight on Gordon’s shoulders and ease some of the load on Nikola Jokic and Murray. Instead, Gordon has struggled badly over the last two games, going 4-of-18 from the field.
Denver’s broader issues were on display all night in the 134-114 loss to Golden State. The offense has stalled, the defense has been scattered, and a game like this from Gordon does nothing to steady either side of the floor. Even their first win, one they had to erase a 23-point deficit to get on Saturday, already looked like a warning sign.
The season is still young, though, and the Nuggets will try to get win No. 2 when they face the Pelicans on Wednesday night.
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For Denver, the immediate on-court picture still appears normal, with DeRozan expected to be available for the next game. But the reaction around his post shows how quickly concern can spread when a player whose story has already included real vulnerability shares something that feels heavier than the usual athlete-to-fan update. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets May Have Found A Roster Answer Bigger Than One Rookie
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Nuggets Rotation Already Faces Early Pressure Ahead Of Warriors Matchup
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Johnson remains in recovery mode, and the next stretch of the schedule gives the Nuggets little time to settle things down. With other players on both sides also carrying injury designations into the Warriors game, the availability picture could keep shifting right up until tipoff, which only adds more pressure to a Denver group trying to keep its rotation intact. [Read more 🡒]