Aaron Gordon gets into it with Thunder’s Alex Caruso in heated Game 6 moment

The Western Conference Semifinal series between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder has been a hard fought battle, with some tensions spilling over in Game 6. During the first half of Game 6 between the Nuggets and Thunder, Aaron Gordon and Alex Caruso got into a little jockeying for position that ultimately resulted in a turnover for the Nuggets, as per Luca Evans of The Denver Post.

Although Alex Caruso is giving up a lot of size to Aaron Gordon, Caruso is one of the best defensive players in the NBA, and did not budge an inch as the Nuggets attempted to inbound the ball to Gordon. During the first attempt to inbound, Caruso knocked the ball away out of bounds. On the second attempt, Jalen Williams jumped up and picked off the inbound.

As of publication, the Thunder held a slim lead near the end of the second quarter as they looked to close out the series and advance to the Western Conference Finals. The Minnesota Timberwolves already advanced to the WCF following their Game 5 elimination win against the Golden State Warriors.

For the Nuggets to try and keep their season alive and force a Game 7, they’re going to need another monster playoff performance from Gordon. Throughout the first two rounds of the playoffs, Gordon has been phenomenal for the Nuggets.

During their opening round series against the Clippers, Gordon’s put-back dunk to win Game 4 changed the momentum of the series. In Game 1 of this series against the Thunder, Gordon knocked down a three-point shot that ultimately won the game and allowed the Nuggets to strike first.

Coming into Game 6 against the Thunder, Gordon had been averaging a playoff career-high 17.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists with splits of 49.4 percent shooting from the field, 39.2 percent shooting from the three-point line and 85.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.