Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman praised his team’s performance after a dominant 124-96 win over the injury-depleted Philadelphia 76ers at Ball Arena on Tuesday.
“Possibly… the pace of play offensively after the defensive rebound, I thought that was key. Everybody ran their lanes hard. Whether we scored or not didn’t matter,” Adelman said.
The coach highlighted Denver’s defensive focus: “They have a lot of talented off-the-bounce guys. We really plug lanes and tried to make them shoot outside shots and then shell up and rebound the ball. The guys did that from the beginning.”
Adelman also noted the consistency of the team’s game plan: “I thought we did a really good job being consistent with our game plan, and they had a tough night shooting the ball… a solid win and a lot of things that I thought were positives from our last four games.”
The Nuggets’ ball movement drew praise as well, with Adelman citing Nikola Jokic’s 14 assists: “Everybody made the extra pass tonight… even late in the game when they zoned, there was a great possession where we moved it from side to side, corner to corner, Julian made the three. That’s the way basketball should be played if you can play it that way.”
Adelman singled out Cameron Johnson’s assertiveness, noting, “He is thinking less and just playing. If I’m open, shoot it. If I’m not, drive it. If somebody steps up, pass it… good things happen. He had a lot of hockey assist moments tonight, really fun to watch.”
The coach balanced praise for offense and defense: “Probably a mix of both, which is the best feeling… I thought we stayed consistent with our effort even the start of the third, which is tough. After about the 10-minute mark, I thought it was professional and we played the right way.”
Regarding Aaron Gordon, Adelman was cautious: “I have no idea. We’ll talk about it… with his body and the frustration of when he got hurt in Milwaukee still in the back of my mind. He’s so impactful, the way he creates spacing, floods to the rim, and defends multiple positions.”
Adelman reflected on the importance of winning during a back-to-back: “At this point in the season, winning like this helps… it’s tough with the lack of sleep, but all these wins are about staying in the race. We played well last week against top teams, and this felt like a connection to that.”
Christian Braun led the Nuggets with 22 points, while Jokic recorded 14 assists. Denver maintained control from the outset, building a 16-point lead after the first quarter and never trailing. Philadelphia, missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Kelly Oubre Jr., struggled offensively and fell to 37-32.
The Nuggets visit Memphis on Wednesday, and the 76ers continue their road trip at Sacramento on Thursday.
