Nuggets Suffer Massive Aaron Gordon Blow as Forward Reaggravtes Hamstring Injury in Key NBA Cup Clash 

The Denver Nuggets came away with a 112-109 NBA Cup victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday, but the celebration did not come without a scare. Aaron Gordon went down early in the game with a hamstring injury, and he never returned to the court.

After only three minutes of action, Gordon bumped into Steven Adams and hit the floor awkwardly. Teammates helped him up, and he was guided to the locker room instantly. Not long after, the team confirmed he would sit out the rest of the night.

Fortunately for Denver, they still found a way to finish strong. The dynamic duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray combined for 60 points and 19 assists to secure their second win of the 2025 NBA Cup group stage.

Once the game wrapped up, fans hoped for good news. Instead, they heard something far more concerning. Head coach David Adelman did not go into the details, but simply claimed that Aaron Gordon could be out for a while.

“Adelman: Aaron Gordon (hamstring) expected to miss some time,” @UnderdogNBA tweeted.

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Adelman: Aaron Gordon (hamstring) expected to miss some time.

Aaron Gordon has dealt with hamstring problems before. During the Nuggets-Thunder series in the 2025 playoffs, he suffered a Grade 2 strain in his left hamstring. Additionally, he missed a total of 31 games during the 2024-2025 season, primarily due to recurring hamstring troubles.

The timing of this new injury makes it even more disheartening since he has been playing the best basketball of his career yet. Gordon has been averaging a career high 20.3 points along with 6.3 rebounds per game.

Nikola Jokic and Nuggets can remain afloat in Aaron Gordon’s potential absence

If Aaron Gordon ends up missing a lot of time, it would be a major loss for the Denver Nuggets. The good news for them is that they have a relatively easy schedule to close out the calendar year.

In their next 12 games, Nikola Jokic and co. will face opponents with records below .500 in seven of those matchups. Even without Gordon on the floor, the Nuggets should still be favored to win most of those games and continue to move up the Western Conference standings.

Friday’s game against the Houston Rockets witnessed Tim Hardaway Jr. take on a bigger role to help fill the gap left by Gordon. He and Jonas Valanciunas will both be counted on to step up until Gordon is back.