David Adelman addresses the crunch time offense for the Denver Nuggets in recent contests.
The Denver Nuggets lost another close game on Friday, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 127-121 in overtime.
The game was tied at 107-107 with 38 seconds left after Nikola Jokic hit a flipping shot in the paint.
Christian Braun blocked an attempt by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the other end, giving the Nuggets the ball with 23 seconds left.
Cam Johnson got a clean look from three off a pass by Jokic, but missed. Alex Caruso missed on the other end, sending the game into overtime.
The Thunder outscored the Nuggets 20-14 in overtime despite not having SGA on the floor due to a minutes restriction. Nine of the 14 Denver points came in the final 30 seconds when Jamal Murray went on a heater in an effort to keep the game alive.
David Adelman Addresses Crunch Time
"That's the key to us late game right now. We're going to have to understand that other guys are going to have to make the shot. They're not allowing [Jokic and Murray] to operate in space, and I wouldn't either. It's been a struggle in that sense. I think the guys will get used to it more and more if that's what it's going to be," he said.
Adelman said that he trusts his guys and will live with the shots they've been getting.
"We keep working our way to the end of games, and we're not finishing them. That's on me. I have to keep looking at it and talking to our two main guys on what they're comfortable with. We'll get there eventually," he said.
Crunch Time Woes
The Nuggets have had trouble closing games out recently, and the Thunder loss was just the latest failing.
They lost 128-117 to the Warriors in a game that was tied at 109 with six minutes left.
They fell 115-114 to the Clippers in a back-and-forth fourth quarter after Jamal Murray missed a game-tying free throw.
They blew a ten point lead with 7:28 left against the Cleveland Cavaliers, losing 119-117 after Tim Hardaway Jr missed a three and Donovan Mitchell won the game on free throws.
They lost in double overtime to the Knicks, and 124-121 to the Pistons.
For the month of February, they are 1-6 in clutch games with a 102.4 offensive rating and a 130.7 defensive rating. The defense is certainly a problem as it's 27th in the league for the month, but the usually reliable offense is 18th in the league.