David Adelman Finds Silver Lining After Nuggets' Loss to Cavaliers

The Denver Nuggets suffered a close loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, falling 113-108 after being outscored by 14 points in the fourth quarter. Despite their late collapse, this was a good showing by the Nuggets, giving a good Cavaliers team all they could handle while being down four starters.

Life without three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is certainly tough for the Nuggets, but they are now 1-1 without him, and things could be worse. Of course, things got worse when Jonas Valanciunas also went down with an injury, but the Nuggets know they have the personnel to stay competitive, even with their top two centers sidelined.

In fact, head coach David Adelman expressed how proud he was of his team after Friday's loss.

"Frustrating to lose this game. Not because we lost, just because of the effort that was given by the group. Very proud to coach this team tonight. I just thought we came to play," Adelman said. "...I'll take this kind of effort every night from this group."

Nuggets show some fight while being shorthanded

Now that the Nuggets are down four starters, headlined by the best player in the world, it is no secret that they need a bit more from everyone else in order to stay afloat. Of course, Jamal Murray is doing all he can, with 34 points in the loss while being double-teamed, but it was a collective effort that kept them in Friday's game.

"The collectiveness is there. It's so easy to let go of the rope right now, a million excuses: On this long road trip, you lose your two centers the last couple of games, blah blah blah, all the excuses in the world. But if you play with great effort and you play together, that's what these guys are doing, and I think they're going to continue to do that because that's who we've been all year," Adelman continued.

"So I was really proud of them, because... the collective belief in one another has not changed and tonight was the same thing."

After Nikola Jokić’s injury, Jamal Murray is the Nuggets’ only healthy starter 🤕 pic.twitter.com/M53Ht5Wu0n
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) December 30, 2025

Many teams would completely collapse if they were dealing with this level of injury concern, but the Nuggets are staying strong. While that shows how impressive this group of players is, it is more a testament to Adelman's success as a first-year head coach.

Nuggets show some fight while being shorthanded

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