David Adelman Admits Nuggets' Key Mistake in Loss vs. Kings

The Denver Nuggets' head coach admits the team had some lapses in their loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Nov 11, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman calls a time out during the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Denver Nuggets suffered their fourth loss of the season on Saturday night, getting taken down at home by the Sacramento Kings 128-123. While that was Denver's fourth loss in 16 games, that was just Sacramento's fourth win in 17 games, as the Kings were able to pull off a significant upset.

How did the Kings do it, though?

Nuggets head coach David Adelman was asked about his team not forcing enough turnovers against the Kings, and he highlighted exactly what they did wrong that led to the loss.

"Our shrinks weren’t as impactful; 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. So, 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. I just thought at the end of the third quarter, you could really see us lagging behind. It was tough... We just didn’t have enough tonight."

Nuggets fall well short

Not only did the Kings rack up 32 assists, compared to Denver's 28, but they only committed six turnovers. For a team that has not been very impressive in sharing the ball and has been overall sloppy on offense, this was far from what the Nuggets likely expected from the Kings heading into Saturday night.

Of course, that means that the Nuggets failed in trying to force the Kings to make mistakes, which is exactly what Adelman believes was the problem in their loss. The Nuggets need to be far more disruptive, and letting an unimpressive Kings team take advantage of them on Saturday night was a far-from-ideal showing.

"We missed shots I think we make, guys had good looks," Adelman continued. "...They beat us, they were desperate to win a game. We came in and we played, like I said, with the right effort. Just too many mental mistakes throughout that led to very easy baskets for them."

The Nuggets now move on to face the Memphis Grizzlies on the road on Monday.

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