David Adelman Admits Nuggets' Mistake After Steph Curry's 42-Point Game

The Denver Nuggets struggled to contain Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry on Thursday.

Oct 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) goes up for a shot as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić (15) trails on the play during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images | Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

The Denver Nuggets were looking to kick off their 2025-26 campaign with a statement win over the Golden State Warriors, but things did not go in their favor. In Thursday's season opener, the Nuggets suffered a 137-131 overtime loss to the Warriors, despite a historically efficient 50-point outburst from Aaron Gordon.

Of course, Gordon was incredible, but the Nuggets did themselves no favors by letting Steph Curry get hot. Curry dropped 35 points in the second half and overtime to finish with 42 on the night, while shooting 14-25 from the field and 6-12 from beyond the arc.

Curry was lights out to close the game, and it seemed like the Nuggets had no solution for the superstar point guard.

STEPH CURRY OUT OF THIS WORLD pic.twitter.com/FO4j7wbeWC

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 24, 2025

Adelman explains Denver's mistakes

After the game, Nuggets head coach David Adelman explained what the Nuggets tried to do to slow down Curry, but admitted that they made some mistakes that led to his 42-point explosion.

“A few times we didn’t send [Curry] in the direction of the defense," Adelman said. "If he gets the other way, there is no one on the other side of that pick. That’s what he’s got going. The shot he made to tie towards the end, it’s a shot that only he can make. Obviously, you have to be up more."

Adelman puts some of the blame on the fear of fouling Curry, saying, "I think guys got hesitant because they did call a few things where a little bit of contact, you got the calls, you don’t even have a four-point play, you have three. The hope was to make him drive the ball to the basket. Seeing as we weren’t up enough, we had to give it a shot.”

A significant concern for the Nuggets, even going back to the last couple of seasons, has been their defense. Of course, they are not going to have to try to defend the best shooter in NBA history every night, but this was not an ideal showing on defense to start their new season.

The Nuggets will move on to face the Phoenix Suns in game two on Saturday, and they certainly want to have a better defensive outing, although Adelman seems to have a good understanding of what works.

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