Aaron Gordon's night has come to an early end.
The Denver Nuggets ruled out the starting forward for the remainder of Friday night's NBA Cup game against the Houston Rockets due to a right hamstring strain.
Gordon's injury occurred early in the first quarter, taking a spill after bumping into Rockets centre Steven Adams and shooting an off-balance attempt.
The 30-year-old would get helped up immediately, but appeared to be in visible discomfort as he eventually made his way off the court and back into the locker room — ending his night after just three minutes.
After what ended up as a 112-109 win for the Nuggets, head coach David Adelman told reporters that Gordon was expected to miss some time due to the injury. The setback came after he had already entered the game, considered day-to-day because of the lingering ailment.
Unfortunate timing for Gordon, who was in the midst of a breakout season, averaging career-highs in scoring (20.3) and three-point percentage (45.2) to go with 6.3 rebounds on 30.2 minutes per game through 12 appearances.
The former fourth overall pick in 2014 has helped the Nuggets surge to an 12-3 start, ranked second on offence and third on defence entering Friday. Gordon ranks third on Denver in scoring, second in rebounding and third in three-point makes per game (2.3).
1:16
