Adelman was happy with the veteran presence of his top two players.
The Denver Nuggets opened their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday with a 116-105 win at Ball Arena, and it was the same two players who have been carrying this team all season that made the difference down the stretch.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray combined for 55 points and 18 assists in Game 1, and while neither one had a perfect afternoon, that was exactly what made the performance stand out.
Denver head coach David Adelman pointed to the patience his two stars showed as the biggest reason the Nuggets pulled away.
"Those guys are so patient," Adelman said after the win. "The number one thing for us in these situations is that just to get a great shot is all that matters to me. And those guys combined for 18 assists… They take what the game gives them… We got a ton of open shots tonight. We didn't shoot it well. We still found a way to win the game because we can control the game at the end because of those two players."
Murray Set the Tone Early
Murray led all scorers with 30 points, though he shot just 7-of-22 from the field and went 0-for-8 from three.
On a night where nothing was falling from the outside, he adjusted by attacking downhill and getting to the free throw line, where he went a perfect 16-for-16.
That total set a new Denver postseason record and reflected the aggressive, controlled approach Adelman was talking about.
Murray also added seven assists and five rebounds, and when the Wolves clawed back in the fourth, he helped Denver keep enough distance to close things out.
Jokic Flipped the Switch After Halftime
Jokic had a quiet first half with only six points, but he turned it on when it mattered and finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists for his 22nd career playoff triple-double, trailing only Magic Johnson and LeBron James on the all-time list.
He was dominant in the fourth, going 6-of-10 for 12 points while the Timberwolves struggled to contain the two-man game.
Why This Duo Is Even Harder to Stop Now
This is the third time in four postseasons that these two teams are meeting, and heading into the series, the all-time playoff record between them sat at 14-14.
What makes this year different is how complete both Jokic and Murray looked during the regular season.
Jokic averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists across 65 games, becoming the first player in NBA history to lead the league in both rebounds and assists in a single season.
Murray posted career highs of 25.4 points and 7.1 assists per game en route to his first All-Star selection, and the two of them powered Denver to a 54-28 finish and the No. 3 seed.
Minnesota finished 49-33 and grabbed the sixth seed, but the Wolves dropped three of four regular-season meetings to Denver.
Game 2 tips off Monday night at Ball Arena.