You may have noticed a heated back-and-forth between Aaron Gordon and Kyle Lowry during the latest meeting between the Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors, on Sunday in Tampa.
In case you had forgotten, the bad blood between Lowry and Gordon originated nearby in Orlando last summer in the bubble.
During an Aug. 5 matchup at Disney World in the “Seeding” games, Lowry decided to dangerously clothesline the high-flyer as he attacked the rim, causing Gordon to scarily fall to the ground.
Aaron Gordon suffers scary fall after hard foul from Kyle Lowry pic.twitter.com/XVrsRCbkVN
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) August 6, 2020
After getting to his feet, Gordon and Kyle Lowry exchanged words, which included the veteran point guard telling Gordon his room number at the Grand Destino Tower at Disney's Coronado Springs (“836”), in case Gordon wanted a piece of him later on.
Kyle Lowry: “836 is my room number”
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) August 6, 2020
Gordon was forced to leave that game with a left hamstring injury.
Clearly, the two sides have not formed a bromance since the incident. This past Sunday, Lowry seemed to go out of his way to box out Gordon on a rebound and proceeded to injure Gordon's leg in some fashion.
This was the offensive possession prior to Aaron Gordon picking up a flagrant foul, and subsequently having to head to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/2aKtBfzhCc
— Dan Savage (@Dan_Savage) February 1, 2021
On the next possession, Gordon was able to exact some long-awaited physical vengeance on Lowry. As the Raptors All-Star filled a lane in semi-transition, with his head turned towards the ball, Gordon stepped up to Kyle Lowry and levied a Jamal Adams-sized hit on the unsuspecting Raptor.
Gordon subsequently earned a flagrant-2 foul, triggering an automatic ejection.
“Hey T-Ross, I’m gonna f-ck him up,” the Toronto guard seemingly said to his teammate, former Magic wing Terrence Ross.
“I’m gonna f-ck him up” – Kyle Lowry on Aaron Gordon LMFAOOOOO https://t.co/By4kXhKR8X
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) February 1, 2021
You can decide for yourself:
Aaron Gordon was called for a foul on Kyle Lowry during this play: pic.twitter.com/1DAj1dTt6W
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 1, 2021
These two have history.
Aaron Gordon got called for a flagrant foul on this play against Lowry. pic.twitter.com/6nREiUuxjr
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 1, 2021
The Raptors won, 115-102, to improve to 8-12 on the season. Orlando fell to 8-13. Gordon had 14 points and eight assists, while Lowry posted 12 points, 15 assists, and seven boards.
Unfortunately, Monday turned out to be an even more frustrating day for Gordon and the Magic, as he once again suffered an injury following an interaction with Kyle Lowry.
(Gordon suffered the ankle injury in the third quarter, and it was not related to the Lowry encounter. He seemed to roll it while bringing the ball up court and limped off the court and into the Orlando locker room moments later.)
The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that Gordon will miss the next four-to-six weeks with a severe ankle sprain, adding another key name to Orlando's long injury report.
Magic forward Aaron Gordon has a severe left ankle sprain — no fracture — and is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2021
Markelle Fultz (torn ACL) is out for the season, while rotation pieces Michael Carter-Williams, Evan Fournier, James Ennis and Chuma Okeke have each has missed chunks of the 2020-21 season. Al-Farouq Aminu (knee) has yet to appear in a game this season. Mo Bamba continues to work himself back into shape after some COVID-related setbacks.
After the game, Magic head coach Steve Clifford blasted Lowry for his dangerous tactics.
“He hit him right in the knee, man. It’s a dangerous play. A guy could get hurt badly. The officials saw it at halftime; they told me. But again, you could hurt somebody badly doing that,” Clifford said, per The Athletic's Josh Robbins.
The diagnosis means Gordon will miss the quick rematch between the two Eastern Conference foes, on Tuesday at Amway Arena. We'll see if one of his teammates sends Kyle Lowry a message on his behalf.
Gordon had been having one the best all-around seasons of his seven-year career, despite his scoring average being at its lowest since 2016-17. The two-time Slam Dunk contest runner-up (unjustly) is averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 42.7% from the field and 36.9% from beyond the arc.
“It’ll be really difficult,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said about missing Gordon, per the Orlando Sentinel. “You know, we’ve played a couple of games without him already and obviously it’d be hard [for more].”
It will also be interesting to see what boils over between Kyle Lowry and Aaron Gordon next time they face off. One thing is for sure though, this is probably not the end of their beef.
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