David Adelman explains why he didn’t call timeout at end of Nuggets-Clippers Game 2

In his first loss as Nuggets interim coach, David Adelman kept his last timeout in his pocket as time expired on the Nuggets in Game 2 against the Clippers.

Trailing 105-102, Denver got a defensive rebound with 11 seconds remaining Monday night. Adelman was wary of the Clippers’ tendency to intentionally foul with a three-point lead, which prevents the opponent from hoisting a game-tying 3-point shot attempt, so he decided the Nuggets’ best chance to generate a clean look was to beat Los Angeles up the floor in transition.

The game ended with Christian Braun and Nikola Jokic missing 3s before the buzzer.

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In his full comments about the ending, Adelman addressed why he didn’t use the timeout at the beginning of the possession or after Jokic rebounded Braun’s initial miss:

“Multiple reasons. In transition, I thought we had a chance to get an open three. I mean, numbers were going the other way,” Adelman said. “Traditionally, they foul up three. I thought we could get the best opportunity. I thought CB was open when he caught it to shoot it. And then obviously off the offensive rebound, my first instinct was to call timeout, but the ball came to Nikola, and I did not think we could get him a good catch if they’re gonna foul (after a hypothetical timeout). And if I call the timeout, then we have none left after that. So it’s a tough situation. When you get runouts like that, a lot of times in our league, with guys falling down and the numbers, you can find a three that way. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.

“Looking back, if I watch the film, watch the tape, I have to see what the situation was. On CB’s catch, once he didn’t shoot it, I could’ve called it. Maybe that’s the one thing I look back on wondering, maybe I should have called it there.”

Jokic on his rushed shot in Game 2

Jokic and his teammates pinpointed a number of little moments and “details” as the reasons they lost Game 2.

In one baffling example during the fourth quarter, Jokic reeled in an offensive rebound at the end of Denver’s 24-second shot clock. The ball had hit the rim, causing the clock to reset to 14 seconds. But Jokic seemingly didn’t realize he had more time, so he turned and rushed a low-quality shot.

He explained afterward that he misinterpreted Jamal Murray’s gesture to slow down and reset the possession. Jokic thought it meant the opposite.

“I saw Jamal, like, telling me to calm down, but I thought (he was signaling), ‘Shoot it! Shoot it!’ So, misunderstanding. Even in that situation, details.”

Aaron Gordon on missed dunk

With 2:43 remaining, the ball found Aaron Gordon in a wide-open lane after the Clippers tried to blitz Murray. But Gordon missed an uncontested dunk that would have given the Nuggets a 99-98 lead. Kawhi Leonard scored on the ensuing Clippers possession to stretch their lead back to three.

Gordon described the missed dunk as uncharacteristic.

“I think I just rushed it,” he said. “Shot clock had more time than I thought I did.”

Michael Porter Jr. had just apologized to his teammates in the locker room, blaming himself for the loss due to a costly turnover. Gordon adamantly disagreed with Porter’s conclusion.

“That’s really big of Mike,” he said. “It shows maturity. It shows unselfishness. To be able to hold yourself accountable before pointing fingers is something that’s rare in this league, and that’s something that we have on this team. Everybody is holding themselves accountable, looking at themselves in the mirror and seeing where they can be better. Including myself. I need to be better for us.”