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Mar 6, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman reacts in the second quarter against the New York Knicks at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Nuggets' David Adelman Explains What Went Wrong vs Knicks

Originally posted on Denver Nuggets on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Mar 7, 2026 8:00 AM ET

Despite the Denver Nuggets heading into their matchup against the New York Knicks with a fully healthy starting five for the first time since November, the Nuggets would end up falling in their biggest home loss in franchise history, 103-142, dropping to their 25th loss on the season in the process.

It wouldn't take long for injuries to creep back into the Nuggets' lineup after they were able to roll out their fully healthy starting five, as Jamal Murray would go down with an ankle injury at the end of the second quarter that now clouds his status moving forward, and certainly didn't help Denver's chances in this one against New York.

But Nuggets head coach David Adelman certainly didn't see Murray’s injury as the reason they ended up falling flat against New York. It simply came down to a lack of competing.

"Yeah, that’s not why we got our ass kicked," Adelman said of Murray's injury postgame. "It’s because guys just let go of it, they didn’t compete. I’d say three minutes to go in the third quarter to all the way through the fourth, outside of DaRon Holmes, I’d say nobody competed... If you’re not going to compete, bad things are going to happen."

"I mean Jamal going out, the foul trouble, I was pulling people in and out, we never found our rhythm. Eight for 40 from three, I’m guessing 27, 28 of them were wide open, so we did get good looks. We just didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, from the free throw line either. If that’s the case, we have to win loose balls and we didn’t do that. You have to keep them off the glass, we didn’t do that... So, give [New York] credit. They played well and we sucked."

David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Davld Adelman Says Lack of Rhythm Wasn't Unexpected

Despite the Nuggets finally having their starting five back in the mix and healthy, that doesn't mean things would be seamless from the jump.

Aaron Gordon had some rust to shake off in his first game back in over a month. There were shooting struggles from a recently-hot Christian Braun who went 2-7 from the field. When rolling out a lineup that hasn't played together since November, there are bound to be a few growing pains on the way back up.

For Adelman, that's certainly not unexpected, so it'll require a bit of patience before seeing this group gel to its full capabilities.

"Yeah, it’s not unexpected," Adelman continued postgame. "I’ve said this before when I talk about getting guys back, there has to be a patient period to this. We’re still trying to let them find their rhythm. Aaron [Gordon] was on an emotional high, but he’s still trying to find rhythm in a real game. I thought Cam [Johnson] showed signs in the second half. Spence [Jones] struggled with the foul trouble. It changes the rotation of guys and the minutes they’re playing. That’s going to happen, it doesn’t matter who comes back."

"I think everyone forgets that when [Nikola] Jokić came back he was trying to find his rhythm, even him. So, it’s part of the whole thing. Either way, regardless of how we lost or whatever it is, it’s good to have them back. It gives you a chance to really take a look at your team over the course of the next whatever it is, two weeks, and hopefully Peyton [Watson] back soon, so we can take a look at our full team. So, I really liked the way we played in the first quarter. Like I said, shots didn’t fall, and I thought that started to affect us. When it affects you, things can go sideways like they did."

The Nuggets now drop to 1.5 games back of the third seed in the Western Conference, are just a half game back from the sixth-seeded LA Lakers, and have just over a month left in the regular season to navigate their way through Adelman's aforementioned patient period before embarking on a challenging playoff run.

This article first appeared on Denver Nuggets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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