David Adelman Speaks on Nuggets 'Weird' Win Over Blazers

Despite the Denver Nuggets having advantages over the Portland Trail Blazers across the board, Monday's game was much closer than expected. The Blazers gave the Nuggets everything they could handle, jumping out to as much as an 18-point lead. Fortunately, the Nuggets came back to force overtime and ultimately pull out a 137-132 win.

The Blazers knocked down 25 three-pointers on 52 attempts (48%), even though they are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league this season. Of course, it is a good sign that the Nuggets prevailed, despite an abnormally impressive shooting night by Portland, but it was certainly not the game they expected on Monday night.

After the game, Nuggets head coach David Adelman explained why Monday's matchup was a "weird game" when talking about how they found a way to come back and win.

"Yeah, I just thought we stuck with it. It was a weird game energy-wise," Adelman admitted. "Let’s just be honest, they made 25 threes people. We didn’t shoot it well and they’re 29th in three-point percentage and they made 25 threes. So, it was a weird game in a lot of ways. I think there was a frustration of like, ‘oh my god, everyone on their team is making shots.’"

Nuggets pull out a "weird" win

This was a very unexpected game by the Blazers, as Toumani Camara led the way with one of the best games in his three-year career. Camara dropped 30 points (20 in the first half) on 8-13 shooting from three-point range, before ultimately fouling out in the fourth quarter.

On top of Camara's 30-point explosion, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, Matisse Thybulle, and Donovan Clingan all surpassed their season average for three-pointers made, knocking down 16 combined shots from beyond the arc on 32 attempts.

As a team, the Blazers average 14.5 made three-pointers per game on a 34.3% clip, the fourth-lowest in the league. Monday's performance was obviously an anomaly for this Portland team, but the Nuggets managed to pull out the win.

Fortunately, after dominating the first half with 72 points, the Blazers came back down to earth, but Adelman made sure to give the Blazers credit for catching fire early.

"When you play NBA games 82 times, there’s nights like this. You give them a lot of credit. I thought if they sustained the shooting they were at, they were going to break an NBA record. So, we just have to stay with it," he said.

Nuggets' key to victory

Of course, the Nuggets are not going to come back from an 18-point deficit by chance. They had to outwork the Blazers down the stretch, and Adelman credited the team's rebounding as a big factor.

"The defensive rebounding for us, especially late in the game, was key, everyone staying in the paint and possessing the ball," Adelman said, "You know, with our team, we’re the number one offense in the NBA, I always say that, we’re going to make shots at some point. I thought the missed shots got to us a little bit mentally. But as that game carried on, you knew there was a run in us."

Get the stats 👇

Jok: 35 PTS / 14 REB / 13 AST / 5 STL / 2 BLK
AG: 23 PTS (4 3PM) / 9 REB / 5 AST
Mal: 20 PTS (3 3PM) / 7 AST / 2 BLK
Cam: 17 PTS / 6 REB / 7 AST
JV: 14 PTS / 3 REB
Ju: 11 PTS / 1 STL pic.twitter.com/LcPNb0PWGh
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 7, 2026

The Nuggets ultimately outrebounded the Blazers 45-39, including a 17-11 advantage on the offensive glass. In a game that came down to an extra period, that certainly made a huge difference.

Adelman also gave credit to the lineup of Jamal Murray, Bruce Brown, Julian Strawther, Cam Johnson, and Jonas Valanciunas for giving the team some life when they went down by 16 points early in the fourth quarter.

"I’ll tell you what, the group that started the fourth quarter kept us in the game. They brought energy even though they tied 14-all. I felt like the energy flipped right there. Yeah, it says a lot about our group. They just find a way, especially as of late," he finished.

This was a tough win for Denver, but the exact type of game they needed. Clawing back from a huge deficit in the fourth quarter is not easy, especially for a team that has had its fair share of issues in the clutch, but they managed to get the job done.