David Adelman Reveals Nuggets' Key to Success in Win Over Celtics

The Denver Nuggets went into Wednesday on a cold streak, losing six of their previous nine games and seven straight matchups against teams with winning records. A matchup against Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics was not going to be easy for the Nuggets, but they got the job done.

The Nuggets defended their homecourt with a 103-84 win, and their 84 points allowed is the lowest mark of the season. This is just the third time through 59 games that Denver has allowed fewer than 100 points, and the second time they have allowed fewer than 90. It is no secret that they have not been a dominant defensive team, but their effort on that end was incredible on Wednesday night.

After the game, Nuggets head coach David Adelman praised his team's defensive effort and credited the improved defense as the reason they pulled out a win.

"It’s one thing to talk about it, talk about it in the media, show film, but you have to go do it. They were really good tonight, everybody got into the ball extremely aggressive. ... We said it at the end of the game, we have gotten to this point with our win total because of our offense, that’s the bottom line. If we’re going to do something uniquely special this season, our defense has to come along. Tonight was a good example of it, but the challenges will keep coming with OKC next," Adelman said.

Nuggets' best defense of the season

In the first few weeks of the season, the Nuggets actually had one of the NBA's best defenses. What happened? Well, they got hit with the injury plague.

Since the Nuggets have had to constantly shuffle players in and out of the lineup, their offense has not been impacted too much, but their defense has taken a major hit. Especially when they are missing guys like Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson, the Nuggets have a completely different defensive identity.

Nov 28, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon looks on from the bench with Peyton Watson (8) in the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Luckily, those two are expected to return to action soon, but regardless of who is in or out of the lineup, the Nuggets need to be consistent on that end of the floor.

"So, it just has to be a more consistent thing. I’m not going to sit up here if we would have lost the game and not be proud of how we played. We played the right way. I was just really proud of the overall effort for all four quarters," Adelman continued. "That’s a really good team we just played with an incredible, incredible wingman in Jaylen Brown. I thought we did a really good job with him, and then also getting out to their shooters who are extremely impactful. So, just a really good win."

The Nuggets dominated the second-best team in the Eastern Conference on the defensive side of the ball, surprisingly, but it resulted in arguably their best win of the month. Everybody knows how dominant the Nuggets' offense can be, so if they can play like this on defense as well, they should be on their way to a championship.