Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman highlighted the team’s balanced performance following Wednesday’s 129-93 victory over the Houston Rockets at Ball Arena.
“Yeah, I just thought he continued to be aggressive,” Adelman said of Cameron Johnson. “Sometimes he’s trying to make perfect plays instead of just making the play that is right there in front of you, usually is the right decision.”
Adelman praised Johnson’s defensive contributions. “The two blocks and the two steals. I thought he had good activity defensively as the whole team did. Tonight was a good flowing game for us, and Cam was a good example of that.”
The coach noted the importance of rhythm returning to the lineup. “As he finds his rhythm and then new people come back and the rotation changes, it feels different. Everybody’s trying to do the right thing for the guy next to him. Sometimes it stunts flow.”
Adelman underscored the win as part of the team’s process. “It really means to me is we won the season series, which is a big deal with all these teams so close together and that’s a really quality opponent. We’ll have some ups and downs. That’s just the way it’s going to be.”
He singled out Julian Strawther for his readiness. “One of the guys I was the most proud of tonight was Julian. He’s not in the rotation, I take him out, I put him back, and he played in a 30-point game. All these guys have to stay ready.”
Adelman credited Nikola Jokic for setting the tone defensively. “He’s really active with his hands. We did a better job end of the second quarter into the third quarter with hand activity. That led to deflections and runouts. We had 24 fast break points. Nikola spearheaded that with his activity.”
He reflected on limiting Kevin Durant to 11 points. “You just have to surround him as best you can. Two people, he can still rise up and score. CB was in his airspace throughout. His effort and attention to detail were incredible.”
Adelman emphasized the team’s energy and pace. “The third quarter was arguably one of our top five quarters of the year. Advancing the ball up the floor led to a lot of three-on-twos and two-on-1s at the rim. Now Nikola trailing into the play puts you naturally into your offense.”
He also commented on Christian Braun’s performance. “It’s the speed and the conditioning that he’s known for. He outran everybody on the court multiple times. It flattens out the defense and leads to corner threes or layups.”
Adelman concluded with a process-oriented mindset. “This is just one game. We played really well, won by a lot of points. It’s a process to get into that tournament. We’ll learn from it, look at the negatives, clean up against a really good team, and try to bring the positives to San Antonio tomorrow.”
