David Adelman on how Nuggets shut down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Game 3

DENVER — Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman commended his players for their collective defense on Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After Nikola Jokic’s supporting cast led the Nuggets to a Game 3 victory against the Thunder, Adelman highlighted Denver’s approach to limiting Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Thunder’s MVP candidate finished with 18 points on 7-of-22 attempts, which, for Adelman, is a testament to the Nuggets’ relentless defense, per Mile High Sports’ Ryan Blackburn.

“He had a tough night. I also thought we did a good job of showing different looks late in his dribble moves. I thought this was our best game of the three of taking the impact of his forearm. He creates a lot of space that way. There were a couple of times late in the game, and I thought CB [Christian Braun] took it the right way and got a good contest.”

Adelman says his players’ second contest on Gilgeous-Alexander made the difference in Game 3.

“When those guys get into their moves and get late into that early paint, sometimes, you got to take a chance, and break it off on your own guy, and get a secondary contest,” Adelman added. “Because if you don’t, it’s just one-on-one all the time. I thought our optionality of what we did with him was good.”