Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman credited his team’s resilience in Wednesday’s 118-109 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
“They just kept putting their head down and driving and obviously it was working,” Adelman said. “We were not getting back and walling up well enough. Our two main ball handlers, Peyton and Jamal, both had foul trouble. I thought it stunted our offense.”
Adelman emphasized how the Nuggets adapted during stretches of difficulty: “This group’s been like that all year. We’ve lost some games where we played really well and there’s just no reaction to it. This would be the same thing after a win. We can be better in the fourth quarter, but the guys that came back balanced that out offensively. They made some big shots.”
Jamal Murray’s leadership stood out in the victory. “He’s just so clean with his decision-making right now,” Adelman said. “All the offense that was created in the first half, unfortunately he only had three assists and only five for the game, but the amount of open shots he created was incredible… 33 and five again. He’s having a tremendous season and he’s doing it in such a leadership way in big moments.”
Adelman acknowledged Dallas’ late-game push. “I think we’re on a back-to-back. Guys played a lot of minutes. Jason Kidd’s group just got downhill, played small, and found something there. Caleb Martin was great. Brandon Williams was really good. We were up against a little bit defensively with how small we are. We were not walling up at the rim well enough.”
The coach praised the team’s adaptability this season. “I think we’ve learned that we can play a lot of different ways if we have to. Playing small ball with Peyton, Spencer, Zeke, DaRon… just finding a different way to play nightly. Jamal can put a team on his back, especially a team that plays for each other.”
Peyton Watson’s development as a playmaker impressed Adelman. “He’s a much more efficient driver of the ball to score and make a play for somebody else… There’s been a maturity to how he’s playing. It’s not just the scoring; it’s the playmaking. For him to have this success right now is cool for him and also cool for that locker room.”
Reflecting on the team’s first half, Adelman highlighted the chemistry and resilience that have kept Denver near the top of the West. “This has been a resilient group. They like each other and they like playing basketball together… The guys that have stepped in have found their expectation of themselves was the same as the group that we had. They want to win games, and they feel like that’s their responsibility and that’s how they’re playing.”
The Nuggets improved to 28-13 and will host Washington on Saturday, while Dallas, now 15-25, faces the Utah Jazz on Thursday.
