Denver Nuggets standout forward Aaron Gordon suffered a Grade 2 right hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in four to six weeks per ESPN’s Shams Charania. The injury happened early in the first quarter of Denver’s eventual win over the Houston Rockets in NBA Cup action on Friday.
Gordon, 30, did not play in Saturday’s loss to the Sacramento Kings. Charania noted Gordon has been dealing with issues in both hamstrings this season and played through a Grade 2 left hamstring strain in Game 7 in the second round of the playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder last season.
The high-flying forward has been outstanding this season, averaging a career-high 18.8 points per game on a career-high 44.4% 3-point shooting, a top-20 mark in the NBA so far this season. Gordon’s injury comes just over a week after fellow starting wing Christian Braun sprained his left ankle. The Nuggets announced Braun would be re-evaluated in six weeks.
The overlapping injuries leaves Denver very thin on the wing; Spencer Jones and Peyton Watson both started against the Kings alongside Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and Cameron Johnson. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown both played more minutes than usual off the bench, and Hunter Tyson joined the bench rotation as well.
Denver is 12-4 on the season and second in the Western Conference, only behind Oklahoma City (16-1).