In a recent Nuggets win, the hero wasn’t the person everyone expected

When you have the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, you are going to see some interesting games. That is certainly the case with the Denver Nuggets.

The MVP, of course, is Nikola jokic. And when he is on your team, amazing things seem to happen. With him. With teammates. And even with coaches.

Such was the case last Sunday when the Nuggets took on the New Orleans Pelicans at Ball Arena. To be honest, the Nuggets had no business winning this basketball game. They were down by 11 points with three minutes to go. It seemed that it would be a disappointing loss for a surging Nuggets team.

Until Jokic decided to take over the game. Like he has done so many times.

Jokic ended up with 46 points. Incredibly, 30 of them came in the fourth quarter and overtime. During this run, he made 10-of-11 shot attempts and 9-of-9 free throws, including two that tied the game at 124-124 with three second left and that essentially sent the game to overtime. Throw in a block late in the fourth quarter and a steal that easily could have ended the game if Jeff Green had seen the pass coming from Jokic.

It was the first time in NBA history a player had ever registered at least 46 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, four blocks and three steals. Jokic and the Nuggets achieved a nearly impossible 138-130 win in overtime.

Almost lost in the magic and excitement and improbable outcome was the fact that Nuggets head coach Michael Malone had been ejected earlier in the game, after picking up two technical fouls. The timing of Malone’s ejection seemed to be right. The team started to play a different game after that. If Malone intended to light a little fire, he may well have done that.

But with his ejection, of course, came someone else taking over as head coach. That man was David Adelman.

Adelman finally got his chance. He was supposed to have this opportunity back in January in Houston when Malone was out because of COVID-19 protocols, but then Adelman himself was forced into the same protocols the morning of the game. Popeye Jones took over and piloted the team to victory that night. But on Sunday night, David Adelman was healthy and ready to roll.

The bulk of the credit for this win, obviously, must go to Jokic and his teammates. But David Adelman seemed to have a calming influence on his team.

His gestures and his body language seem to tell the players that he was in control. And he couldn’t just let the guys play. He had to make some decisions as the acting head coach. He didn’t spend too much time without the grease board and marker in his hand. Thanks to Jokic and Company, the shots fell but the acting head coach also pushed all the right buttons.

Coaching is in David Adelman’s blood. His Hall of Fame father, Rick, was the head coach in the NBA for 23 years, with five different teams. He is best known for that incredible run with the Portland Trail Blazers, from 1989-94.

David Adelman literally grew up in the NBA. And, at least in this game, it sure showed!

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