Damian Lillard was unstoppable in the first half of Game 2 on Monday night, dropping 32 points, but the Nuggets held him in check in the two quarters that followed.
Lillard scored only 10 points in the second half, as the Nuggets forced other players to try to beat them. They failed to do so, and that’s why the Nuggets cruised to a 19-point victory.
Everyone wanted to know what adjustments the Nuggets coaching staff made, and apparently, Aaron Gordon was a big part of the blueprint for slowing down Lillard. Gordon is a tough, physical player, and he’s long, so he can limit the space his opponents get.
That’s apparently what he did to Lillard, as Gordon revealed he volunteered to guard the Blazers sharpshooter after his red-hot performance in the first two quarters of the game.
“Dame was going crazy in the first half. It almost looked like we didn’t have an answer for him,” Gordon said, via ESPN.com. “I looked at the coaching staff and said, ‘I got him.'”
He sure did get him, as Lillard went cold in the second half, and so did the Blazers.
