David Adelman pushed back hard after the Nuggets fell 112-96 to the Timberwolves on Saturday in Minnesota, saying he believed Denver was competitive even as the loss left the defending hopefuls on the brink of elimination.
“You don’t think we were competitive tonight?” Adelman asked after the game, adding that he thought the Nuggets “were very competitive tonight.” Denver had just been beaten in Game 4 after a second-half collapse and now trails the series 3-1, heading into a do-or-die Game 5.
The weight of the loss came in the numbers. Adelman said the Nuggets shot 24% in the second half, making it hard to win no matter how hard they played. He also pointed to Minnesota’s bench, saying two Timberwolves reserves combined for 60 points, while Denver held Minnesota to 108 points if two garbage-time buckets are removed. In his view, a team that does that should have a “great chance” to win.
The game fit a troubling playoff pattern for Denver. The Nuggets have now failed to top 100 points in back-to-back postseason games, and their offense has gone cold at the exact moment they most needed it. Nikola Jokic is averaging 25 points on 39.1% shooting in the series, while Jamal Murray is shooting 37.1% from the field and 26.5% from 3-point range. That is a steep drop for a team that led the league in 3-point efficiency during the regular season but has hit just 28.5% from deep through four playoff games.
Adelman rejected the idea that the problem was effort or competitive spirit. He said it was “hilarious” that the narrative says offense does not matter, and he insisted the locker room was frustrated but aware of how close the team is to turning the series. He also said he did not care what anyone wrote and that he knew what the group felt before the game and still feels now. Jokic offered a simpler explanation, saying it was “probably” a little bit of everything, including “not setting screens” and “not getting guys open.”
That frustration is magnified by what preceded this skid. Denver had not lost in more than a month before the current three-game slide, and the season was built around championship expectations. Even if the Nuggets survive Game 5, the path back still likely demands a punishing seven-game climb through a series that has already turned physically and emotionally taxing. They were in command in Game 2 with a 19-point lead before that game unraveled after the first quarter, and now the margin for error is gone.
For Adelman, the message was blunt: the effort is there, but the execution is not. For the Nuggets, the next game is no longer about narrative. It is about whether a team that once looked built for June can find enough offense to make it to another day.
