Denver forward Aaron Gordon was listed on the morning injury report as questionable for Sunday’s Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but early Sunday afternoon the Nuggets officially declared him available for the game.
ESPN had reported that Gordon was unlikely to play in the road game due to a left hamstring strain. But Gordon participated in warmups Sunday and could maintain his usual spot in the starting lineup per reporting from the Denver Post.
How long Gordon will be able to play remains to be seen.
ESPN termed Gordon’s injury as a Grade 2 hamstring strain, describing the injury as needing “several weeks” for recovery. He left Game 6 on Thursday late in the fourth quarter with the injury.
Gordon, 29, is in his fifth season with the Nuggets and was a key player on their 2022-23 NBA championship team.
In 13 playoff games this season, he is averaging 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists over 38.2 minutes per game.
He was limited to 51 games in the regular season due to a strained right calf and a sprained left ankle.
After Gordon went through a walkthrough on Saturday in Denver, interim coach David Adelman said no decisions had been made about his availability.
“I’m sure the hoops (to jump through) are probably smaller because the game’s coming so quickly,” he said. “It’s not a thing where he has three weeks to go through it. So it will be probably his comfortability, along with the medical staff’s advice on what he can and can’t do.
“If they say he’s available, he will start.”
Gordon has hit two game-winners this postseason: a dunk in Game 4 of the opening round against the Los Angeles Clippers and a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to win Game 1 against the top-seeded Thunder. His 3-pointer with 27 seconds left in regulation of Game 3 against Oklahoma City sent the fourth-seeded Nuggets to overtime — a game they went on to win 113-104.
The winner of Game 7 will have home-court advantage against the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals, which begin Tuesday.
Nuggets guards Jamal Murray (illness) and Russell Westbrook (right hand sprain), previously listed as probable, also are available.
–Field Level Media
