The Denver Nuggets suffered a crushing 112-105 Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. Following the game, Aaron Gordon had little interest in discussing what had just gone down in the game. Instead, he directed his postgame comments toward a recent ESPN article that, according to Gordon, portrayed teammate Russell Westbrook incorrectly.

“Earlier, I caught wind of an article that came out about Russell Westbrook, and in our locker room after Game 2. It was a completely arbitrary article. Pointless and unnecessary by whoever put it out,” Gordon told Vic Lombardi of AltitudeTV. “Russ is one of the most talented basketball players that has ever played the game of basketball. Quite frankly, he's been great for us all year long. We're brothers. We spend more time with our team than we do with our own family.”

Nuggets' Aaron Gordon defends Russell Westbrook following recent scathing article

The article, which was published Tuesday by ESPN, detailed a heated locker room exchange between Gordon and Westbrook following Game 2 of Denver's first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers. According to the article, Gordon had “challenged Westbrook about his attitude,” with one unnamed player describing Westbrook as “so immature.”

In the article, Westbrook was portrayed as a volatile presence who has been “exactly what the Nuggets needed at times — and at others has also been their undoing.” Also, it characterized him as someone who has “single-handedly won and lost them games” and used a quote from another unnamed Nuggets player who said Westbrook “changed the entire vibe and spirit of our team.”

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While the Westbrook experience in Denver has been quite the rollercoaster ride, Gordon still firmly stands behind his teammate and ensures that the conversations that have been happening are part of a normal locker room.

“Of course, there are going to be disagreements. But that conversation wasn't for anybody other than our own group and the internal workings of our locker room,” said Gordon. “That article is just so arbitrary and so far from the truth. Russ has been amazing for us.”

The timing of ESPN's article comes as the Nuggets potentially face elimination, with Game 6 scheduled for Thursday in Denver. But according to Gordon, he knows Westbrook will step up and play a key role.

“He's going to continue to be great for us and gonna make a huge impact,” said Gordon.”He's gonna help us win these next two games.”