Nuggets forward’s two-way efforts doom Heat

Aaron Gordon made his presence felt offensively early in Denver, scoring 12 points in the first eight minutes — only two fewer than the Miami Heat did as a team. Normally a defense-first player, Gordon was extremely aggressive on offense early, taking advantage of the undersized Heat frontcourt.

Caleb Martin is a strong defender, but he's also 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds. Gordon is 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, and he's strong, period. He put Martin under the basket on one play with sheer force, and when 6-foot-3 Gabe Vincent ended up guarding Gordon on a cross match, he was helpless to stop him.

Eventually Miami was forced to go with the bigger Haywood Highsmith, who played nearly half the game. Highsmith did well, finishing with 18 points, but Gordon's performance clearly took Miami out of its game plan. Meanwhile, Martin and Max Strus combined to shoot 1-17, possibly because they were so shook by Gordon's intensity on both ends.

After the Nuggets' unheralded defense held the Heat to 93 points, their lowest-scoring game of the playoffs, coach Michael Malone gave Gordon the "DPOG Chain" awarded to Denver's Defensive Player of the Game.

Gordon was humble after his spectacular effort, telling reporters, "I'm not here for the credit. I'm here for the wins."

The Heat will certainly adjust for Game 2, but until they find an answer for the Nuggets' size — including 6-foot-10 small forward Michael Porter Jr. — Gordon is going to be there for a bunch of wins.