Gordon is staying even-keeled.
The Denver Nuggets dropped Game 2 of their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-114 on Monday night at Ball Arena, and what looked like a comfortable cushion early on turned into a painful collapse that evened things up heading into Thursday's Game 3 in Minneapolis.
Denver jumped out to a 19-point first-quarter lead and seemed ready to take a commanding 2-0 series advantage, but Minnesota ripped off a massive second-quarter run and refused to let up from there.
Anthony Edwards led the comeback with 30 points and 10 rebounds, while Rudy Gobert locked down Nikola Jokic in the second half and held him to 1-of-8 shooting in their individual matchups.
Jamal Murray had another strong outing with 30 points of his own, but the Nuggets could not close out possessions down the stretch.
Gordon Keeps His Cool After a Tough Night
It was a rough outing for Aaron Gordon individually.
After putting up 17 points and eight rebounds on efficient shooting in the Game 1 win, Gordon finished Game 2 with just eight points, seven rebounds and four assists on 3-of-9 from the field.
But when he spoke to media after the loss, he didn't sound rattled.
"It's playoff basketball. I mean, that's what you dream about playing in when you were a kid," Gordon said. "So 1-1 going into a hostile environment, you can't beat it."
Gordon averaged 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game during the regular season across just 36 games due to two separate hamstring injuries, and his presence in the lineup has been night and day for Denver all year.
His Game 1 showing proved that, as he gave the Nuggets productive minutes on both ends despite early foul trouble.
Game 2 was a step back, but his mindset afterward tells a bigger story about where this group's head is at.
A Series Built for the Long Haul
Gordon wanted everyone to understand that he sees this as a marathon and not a sprint, and he's fully embracing the idea of walking into a hostile building.
"It's a long series. It's tied," Gordon said. "In Minnesota, like I said, it's going to be a hostile environment. Limit the noise, limit the outside noise, and we're going in that place 15 strong, so we just got to be ready."
The third-seeded Nuggets (54-28) held home court in Game 1 with a physical 116-105 victory, but losing Game 2 means they've surrendered that advantage.
The sixth-seeded Timberwolves (49-33) are heading home with all the momentum, and Edwards looked like the best player on the floor for large stretches of Monday night while playing through a sore knee.
Minnesota's crowd at Target Center will be fired up for a Nuggets team they've faced in the playoffs three times in four years.
Denver's veterans know what this rivalry feels like, and they'll need Gordon to bounce back if they want to reclaim control.
Based on how he talked Monday night, Gordon seems ready for it.