Damian Lillard’s clock was off.

Instead of burning down the nets and blowing up defenses during his signature quarter – the fourth – Portland’s star reached the transcendent state about two quarters too soon Monday night.

As Lillard bombed away, torching Denver’s patchwork band of guards led by Facu Campazzo and Austin Rivers, the Nuggets could not sustain what had been a comfortable lead. An 18-point edge melted under Lillard’s 22-point second quarter, where he sunk six of his eight first-half 3s.

“Dame was going crazy in the first half,” forward Aaron Gordon said well after he and Shaq Harrison tamed Lillard and helped the Nuggets seize Game 2 late Monday, 128-109. “It almost looked like we didn’t have no answer for him.”

With nowhere to turn late in the first half, Nuggets coach Michael Malone looked frantically down his bench at the start of a timeout. He pointed to two-way guard Shaq Harrison, who didn’t play in Game 1 ostensibly because of his offensive limitations.

The Nuggets were out of options. Either contain Dame or face an 0-2 deficit against a No. 6 seed.

“We always talk to our players about staying ready, and Shaq Harrison played about one minute, 15 seconds in that first half and had a huge impact,” Malone said unsolicited.

Harrison temporarily put out the fire, at least until the Nuggets convened at halftime with a precarious 73-61 lead.

“I looked at the coaching staff and said, ‘I got him,’” Gordon said with the same steely confidence Lillard had when he pulled up from the Nuggets’ logo.

“In the second half, they came out and said I was going to start on him for the first possession,” Gordon said. “It really was just going to be the first possession, and then… they were just like, ‘We’ll see how it goes.’ … I love those matchups, man. … I really don’t care what the matchup is … I’m here for it all.”

After pouring in 32 points and eight 3-pointers in the first half, Gordon hounded Lillard and made him work. The result? Lillard was just 2-of-9 with one 3-pointer in more than 20 minutes in the second half.

“Just a bigger defender,” said Lillard, who finished with 42 points and nine 3s. “A taller guy, more athletic. That’s it. Just a bigger body. I’m used to that. Usually, throughout the regular season … that’s who guards me.”

Malone said the idea to put Gordon on Lillard was first hatched during the week leading up to Saturday’s Game 1. The Nuggets liked how Campazzo stayed in Lillard’s space, and recognized Rivers’ size advantage. But faced with a first-half flamethrower, the Nuggets opted for size.

“That’s one of the reasons we brought AG here,” Malone said. “That defensive versatility. He embraced it, he wanted it. That’s the best part about it. This is something that Aaron Gordon’s been wanting to do. And he just made it hard. Listen, Damian Lillard is an incredible player. We saw that in that first half. I think Aaron’s size makes it a little bit tougher to get those shots off.”

Gordon couldn’t quite explain his request to check one of the NBA’s deadliest 3-point shooters, but his comments Monday night echoed sentiments he professed at his introductory news conference.

“That’s my competitive nature,” he said. “I know I’m capable, and I want to make sure the coaches understand that I’m a defender. It’s my niche. It doesn’t matter if it’s a point guard, or a center, like I said, put me on him, and I’ll make it difficult for them.”

The irony of Gordon’s matchup against Lillard was that the two might’ve been teammates had Orlando found a suitable deal with Portland.

Gordon said the Blazers were “in the mix” for him at the trade deadline, and even earlier.

“I don’t know if it was over the summertime or at the very beginning of the season, there were talks,” Gordon said. “I’m happy where I am. Extremely happy where I am. I’m here for a reason. This is where I should be.”