Nuggets bench falters at a critical juncture in a setback against the Timberwolves
The moment for decisive change arrived around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. After Denver watched a nine-point cushion vanish in a span of just 2 minutes and 8 seconds with Jokic and Murray off the floor, coach David Adelman decided to shake up his rotation.
“We have to learn from this. I need to find a unit that will actually compete at a higher level, because that stretch defined the game,” Adelman said after the 117-108 loss at Ball Arena. He emphasized that struggling on offense, missed shots, and sloppy defense feeding off each other is simply inexcusable.
To start the second quarter, Adelman sent out Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., Cam Johnson, Zeke Nnaji, and Jonas Valančiūnas. Bones Hyland, a former Nugget, sparked the comeback by scoring the first seven points of the run, adding two free throws after Valančiūnas drew a flagrant foul on a screen. A turnover then led to an Ayo Dosunmu bucket, and Denver’s lead evaporated.
“Bones Hyland, when he gets going, he’s tough to handle. He capitalized on our defensive mistakes and turnovers, which made it easy for them to score,” Hardaway noted. “We just have to take better care of the ball.”
With Jokic resting to start the fourth, Adelman kept Brown, Hardaway, and Valančiūnas on the floor and added Jamal Murray and Jalen Pickett. Pairing Murray with Jokic isn’t his preferred approach, but Adelman felt the situation demanded a different look with the game still within reach with 12 minutes remaining.
“It’s not what I want to do,” Adelman admitted. “I want them playing together. If I have to split them up, I will, because this can’t happen. It’s happened in consecutive games and it’s cost us.”
Earlier in the season, Murray attributed his best form to the rhythm he found by staying on the floor longer in the first quarter, enabling him to rejoin Jokic when he was off the court. On Sunday, his stance was more open-ended: ``I’m just playing. The coach will do what he needs to do.”
The tactical adjustment didn’t yield the desired breakthrough, though it beat the opening stretch. Minnesota stretched its lead to 12 before Jokic re-entered with just under eight minutes left. The Nuggets never pulled within seven the rest of the way.
“We still had 24 minutes to make a move,” Jokic commented on the initial bench failure.
Jokic finished with 35 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists. Murray added 25 points on 22 attempts. Hardaway contributed 17 and Christian Braun 15 as the next highest scorers in double figures.
For Minnesota, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels paced the offense with 21 and 20 points, respectively, while Hyland supplied the bench with 18 on 6-for-7 shooting. Denver held the floor effectively for the 37 minutes Jokic was on it, outscoring Minnesota by four in that span, but the early second-quarter lapse proved costly and shifted Denver’s position in the standings. The Nuggets entered Monday fifth in the Western Conference heading into a road game at Utah.
Adelman vowed to address the issue and explore options based on health, saying, “This level of play cannot happen. We’ll have conversations and identify a group that can compete and raise the level of play.”
NUGGETS 117, TIMBERWOLVES 108
What happened: Minnesota erased a nine-point first-quarter lead and led 58-50 at halftime. The game remained tight after three quarters, leaving Denver at 37-24.
What went right: Denver held a strong edge in the paint, scoring 60 points there.
What went wrong: The Nuggets were overwhelmed by fastbreaks (30-6) and turned-over opportunities (22-11).
Highlight of the night: Jamal Murray crushed Ayo Dosunmu, delivering a two-handed dunk over Rudy Gobert early in the fourth.
Up next: The Nuggets head to Utah for a Monday showdown with the Jazz.
