The Denver Nuggets fell short of advancing in the NBA Cup against the San Antonio Spurs in what would be a high-scoring 136-139 loss for their fifth on the season, and an overall lackluster performance from the Nuggets on the defensive side of the ball.
139 points is the highest the Nuggets have allowed this season for any team, and when you allow that many points on the other side on any occasion in the NBA, it’s hard to put together a winning effort— even when putting up over 130 points of your own.
So it comes as no surprise that after the game wrapped up, Nuggets head coach David Adelman remained critical of his team’s defensive effort throughout the night as a primary reason they fell short of a win.
“When you score 136 points and lose, that’s an issue. So, we’ve got to shore some things up,” Adelman said postgame. “We’ve got to compete better on that end, and I have to rotate guys through, just find the right five that’ll compete defensively.”
“I know we’re gonna score, and we score a ton all the time. On top of that, what doesn’t help your defense is 17 turnovers for 30 points. So you couple a struggling night defensively, and as of late with terrible ball security, and that leads to them coming back and beating us.”
David Adelman:
“We’ve got to grow up and compete defensively.”
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— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) November 29, 2025David Adelman Blames Defensive Effort for Loss vs. Spurs
The Nuggets are bound to put together their fair share of quality offensive performances on any given night with the generator of three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic at the helm– even in nights like this one where had just 10 shots from the field for 21 points.
But Adelman wasn’t willing to shift the blame towards Jokic’s quieter scoring outing for Denver’s shortcomings against the Spurs. Instead, it all comes back to their defensive consistency.
“I mean, if we win the game, I say we scored 136 points the way they guarded them. So, I don’t think that was the issue,” Adelman said of Jokic’s 10 FGA.
“We’ve talked about how to attack that. He did a great job screening. He created two on ones, three on twos, which led to a lot of the wide open threes… When teams guard us like that, you have to win as a team.”
Nov 24, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman reacts during the third quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
While Jokic took a backseat as the Nuggets’ scorer, Jamal Murray had the hot hand with a 37-point bomb, Cameron Johnson turned it on for 28 himself, and the team had 136 points on 52-41-80 splits as a whole.
But even still, that wouldn’t be enough juice to power the Nuggets forward for a quality NBA Cup win on their home floor. For Adelman, that’s a statement for how this team needs to approach their work moving forward: the offense looks great, but for Denver to have a true championship ceiling, the effort needs to be complete on both ends of the floor.
“All these offensive stats are shiny, and you still lose the game. So, we have to grow up and compete defensively. I know we’re going to score, very talented team, but moving forward, we’re looking to make this tournament at the end of the year. Things have to trend better on that end.”
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