David Adelman Reacts to Tim Hardaway Jr.'s Big Night vs Raptors

In the process of the Denver Nuggets' much-needed home win against the Toronto Raptors, 121-115, to head into the weekend on a positive note, it ended up being a huge night from none other than veteran guard Tim Hardaway Jr., exploding for one of his best performances of the season so far.

Within 31 minutes on the floor, Hardaway Jr. put together 23 points on 8-16 shooting from the field and an impressive 7-10 from three, paired with four rebounds and a steal en route to the winning effort.

In all, it made for Hardaway Jr.'s tenth game this year in which he's scored 23 points or more, with only one of those games coming as a part of the Nuggets' starting five. It was also his fifth game this season connecting on at least seven threes in a single game.

After the action, Hardaway Jr.'s night landed some notable praise from his head coach David Adelman, highlighting his steep level of confidence that helps make big nights like this one possible.

"It's all things great and crazy at the same time," Adelman said of Hardaway Jr. after the game. "His confidence level, it never wavers, which is a talent I think we all wish we had in certain parts of life and in basketball, that's what he has. He firmly believes after he misses the next five, I'm going to go in."

"He is a green light player. I'll never bat an eye if he takes a shot, and he has these nights where he can just turn games. There were multiple times when we got loose balls, and he's right there, makes an enormous shot to keep us close to them, and I thought defensively he really sat down and guarded."

When Tim Hardaway Jr. Is Hot, So Are the Nuggets

Hardaway is putting together some eye-catching season averages throughout his first year with the Nuggets as their best bench scorer on the roster, now with 13.9 points a night on 45.1% shooting from the field and 40.1% from three.

And impressively enough, the Nuggets are now 11-5 on the year in games where Hardaway Jr. scores 20 or more points, and 9-3 when he makes five or more three-pointers.

Feb 22, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Denver Nuggets guard-forward Tim Hardaway Jr. (10) talks with the referee during a game against the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Oftentimes, when the Nuggets are rolling, so is Tim Hardaway Jr.–– something that even Adelman recognized after the game, and is sure to be a hot hand he'll be willing to ride as long as possible.

"Tim's been, we've talked about it a lot this year, but a lot of the wins like this, if you look back at Tim's box scores, he's a big part of it," Adelman continued.

"Getting hot, flipping the game, starting runs and having him out there when Jamal Murray had it going. Just another guy they didn't want to leave, but when they blitzed Jamal and we found Spence [Spencer Jones] and Spence found Tim, beautiful basketball and it was just good to see Tim out there. Every night, he just helps us in so many ways."

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