The Denver Nuggets appeared to have found a way to slow down Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard. In Game 2, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone called on Aaron Gordon to take the tough task of guarding Dame, a move that seemed to work a bit. Lillard only had 10 in the second half and Gordon frustrated the point guard.
However, Lillard doesn't seem too worried and gave a very cheeky response.
Damian Lillard on the Nuggets' belief that they've found the magic bullet in the adjustment of having Aaron Gordon guard him: "We'll see."
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) May 26, 2021
You don't want to poke the bear, especially a guy like Dame who can go nuclear at any moment in any game. Lillard put up 34 points in Game 1 then followed it with 42 points in Game 2. He had 32 points at the half before Malone made the switch, and if it's any indication, it appears that Gordon will be tasked with guarding Dame once again in Game 3 as the series heads to Portland.
In all, Gordon helped slow down Dame, something that's nearly impossible to do for anybody in the league as the Blazers ended up losing 128-109 as the series evened up at 1-1.
Gordon came over in a trade deadline deal with the Orlando Magic, and Malone says that's a key reason why they went out and added him.
Malone on Aaron Gordon's defense on Damian Lillard: "That's one of the reasons we brought AG here…This is something Aaron wanted to do, and he just made it hard."
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) May 25, 2021
As the series heads to Portland, it seems that Lillard will be ready and make adjustments to get around Gordon. He is averaging 28.8 points per game on the year and if the Blazers want any shot at beating the Nuggets, they will need Dame to be the star that he is.
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