The Denver Nuggets haven’t had many setbacks this season, but Saturday’s 128-123 loss to the Sacramento Kings was the most puzzling of any. The result marks just the fourth win the Kings have notched this season and it was largely because of an uncharacteristically disappointing defensive effort from the Nuggets.

Denver was only able to force seven turnovers throughout the entire game and turned those turnovers into just 10 points. After the game, Nuggets coach David Adelman explained why his team was so ineffective at forcing their opponents into mistakes on Saturday night.

"Our shrinks weren’t as impactful,” Adelman said. “I didn’t think the activity was as good. For them to get 32 assists, to your point, that’s a team that usually plays isolation basketball mainly. It’s not a good number. It means that they’re driving in, finding people for easy baskets, easy looks from three.” 

While Adelman had no reservations about his team’s lackluster performance, he made sure to give the Kings credit for finding their way after a tough start from the field. Adelman also credited his own team’s energy in the game despite the fact the outcome wasn’t exactly what the team was hoping for.

“Give them credit,” Adelman said. “They attacked us throughout the night, they lived in our paint, and then eventually the three-ball fell for them late. They didn’t make shots early in the game. 

It’s an NBA night. You fly back, prepare, I thought the guys were ready to go. I was really proud of the energy in the first half.”

In terms of where exactly things went wrong for the Nuggets on Saturday, Adelman pinpointed the end of the third quarter as the point where the team really showed some noticeable lag. Adelman explained that it put him in a tough spot in terms of how he should manage his timeouts, as burning them in the third would have took them out of the equation in the fourth.

“I just thought at the end of the third quarter, you could really see us lagging behind,” Adelman said. “It was tough. Do you burn timeouts throughout the third quarter and then you have nothing left at the end? It’s a guessing game in those moments. We just didn’t have enough tonight."

The Nuggets are back in action in Memphis on Monday night, where they’ll take on a Grizzlies team that’s coming off consecutive wins, including a 41-point win over the Kings on Thursday.