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NBA

Adelman Points to Spacing and Turnovers After Nuggets’ Loss to Thunder

Denver’s coach said missing shooters did not excuse failures to make an extra pass.

Mark Daigneault speaks at a microphone.
Mark Daigneault after Oklahoma City’s October 22 win. · Credit: Oklahoma City Thunder

“over dribbling leads to turnovers, leads to runouts,” Denver coach David Adelman said when asked whether missing shooters had hurt Denver’s spacing. He said their absence did not excuse failing to make the extra pass. Adelman also urged open players to take their shots instead of driving back into Oklahoma City’s defense, while praising the team’s effort. He credited Aaron Gordon’s first-half impact and said controlling his minutes had made sustaining rhythm difficult.

Mark Daigneault on Oklahoma City’s Defense

“We don’t look for excuses,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said, describing his team’s response when shots were not falling. He credited its energy, defense and toughness rather than treating the difficult shooting night as a reason to concede.

Source: Denver’s official David Adelman postgame recording, reviewed through its complete auto-generated transcript.

Final: Oklahoma City 96, Denver 84, October 22, 2026.

Source: Oklahoma City’s official Mark Daigneault postgame recording, reviewed through its complete auto-generated transcript.

Full game report

Sources and notes

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_X604iVoB4
  2. Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault postgame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCfdn0nsCKE
  3. Official NBA final box score: https://www.nba.com/game/den-vs-okc-0022600007/box-score