Nuggets Get Much Needed Win Over Kings in 1st Game of David Adelman Era

The Denver Nuggets won their first game of the month on Wednesday night, just a day after firing both head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.

The Nuggets took the court against the Sacramento Kings on the road, and secured a wire-to-wire 124-116 win to improve to 48-32 for the season.

Newly promoted head coach David Adelman didn’t make any changes to the starting lineup from last game: Jalen Pickett, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic, but he certainly got different results.

The Nuggets offense was well-balanced and the defensive effort seemed to be heightened, with the teams backs against the wall. Denver entered the night guraunteed a spot in at least the Play-In Tournament, but even with the win, a Top 6 seed hasn’t been secured quite yet.

Jokic had a “small” triple double by his own monster standards, his 32nd of the season. Jokic scored 20 points on just five baskets made (5-12 FG, 10-10 FT) and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, and 4 steals.

Coach Jokic drew up a play for the Nuggets 😅 pic.twitter.com/YgXfYDnbCk
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 10, 2025

Braun continued his hot scoring from last game with a team-high 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including three three-pointers.

Gordon (21 points), Porter Jr. (21 points) and Pickett (18 points) rounded out the balanced offensive effort for Denver.

Russell Westbrook saw 17 minutes on the court, a bit less than usual, and connected on only two of his eleven shots on a five-point evening.

Zach LaVine (27 points) and DeMar DeRozan (22 points) led the charge for Sacramento.

The Nuggets return to Ball Arena for their regular season home finale on Friday against a Memphis Grizzlies team also fighting for Western Conference playoff positioning.

Denver ends the regular season on the road against the Houston Rockets: who have already clinched the second seed in the West, and may be in a position to rest some starters heading in to the postseason.

After the game, Jokic said: “People say that we were vulnerable, but the beast is always the most dangerous when they’re vulnerable. Maybe he (Nuggets management) woke up the beast.”

Nikola Jokic: “People say that we were vulnerable, but the beast is always the most dangerous when they’re vulnerable.”

“Maybe he woke up the beast.” pic.twitter.com/3QboYDj3YS
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) April 10, 2025