David Adelman on Nuggets’ Game 5 blown lead to Thunder: ‘If it is fatigue, that’s on me’

OKLAHOMA CITY In the immediate aftermath of a Battle defeat that might sting for an entire offseason Nuggets interim coach David Adelman didn t regret playing Nikola Jokic the entire second half but acknowledged that I ll doubt myself about the decision later The Nuggets led - with minutes to go in an eventual - loss to the Thunder falling behind - in a dramatic second-round playoff series Jokic skipped his usual rest stint at the start of the fourth quarter and played the last minutes of challenge time It was my decision I had a conversation with him He felt good And I was going back and forth with it Adelman disclosed With the four timeouts left that was a big factor for me I felt like the momentum of the championship was going our way And he was very sure of himself We demanded to play through him I ll look back on it I ll doubt myself because we lost the match Jokic amassed points and rebounds on a masterful -for- shooting night that included fourth-quarter points But the Nuggets scored only as a association in the final frame going more than seven minutes without a field goal at one point while Oklahoma City assembled an - game-tying run During the drought Jokic attempted only two shots from the floor as well as four free throws You don t think about that when you play he mentioned of the choice to skip his rest minutes I felt good and I talked to DA and he advised me If you want to stay in stay in And I don t know did that change whatever happened I think we had good looks We had everything We just didn t make it The Nuggets have now lost three of their last four playoff games when Jokic has not rested in the fourth quarter including their infamous Encounter collapse against the Timberwolves last year Minnesota erased a -point deficit in the second half of a event in which former coach Michael Malone later admitted he ran our players into the ground But this time it was Denver s supporting cast that struggled as a crucial battle slipped away Aside from Jokic s -for- fourth quarter the rest of the association combined to miss of shots Adelman also played Jamal Murray the full minutes and he went for I don t use that excuse Murray stated I play better when I m tired So I ve gotta go get the ball and do something Meanwhile the Thunder received contributions across the board Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the closer he s meant to be Jalen Williams only basket of the fourth was the game-winning -pointer Lu Dort ignited the comeback with a flurry of s Isaiah Hartenstein converted tying and go-ahead buckets in the last four minutes OKC shot of in the quarter Gilgeous-Alexander finished the night at minutes Williams played After those two nobody for the Thunder logged more than Denver had three players over If it is fatigue that s on me Adelman disclosed I m deciding who s gonna run it who s gonna be out there So if guys are tired or had tired legs that s the decisions I m making I liked the group we had We had a good rhythm there going to the fourth and I thought we sustained it early We didn t have enough at the end Related Articles Nuggets Michael Porter Jr blames self for losses in Games and I haven t been contributing PHOTOS Denver Nuggets fall to OKC Thunder - in Challenge of NBA Playoffs second round series Nuggets-Thunder Battle -pointers Nikola Jokic identified his legs Will he ever find a whistle Nuggets allow another fourth-quarter lead to slip despite Nikola Jokic s epic night fall behind - to Thunder David Adelman revels in more involved role in Nuggets defense as interim coach Starting with Competition on Thursday the Nuggets need to win their second and third elimination games of the postseason to reach the Western Conference Finals A grinning Murray stated he was very confident that Denver would stretch the second-round series to a Challenge back in Oklahoma City I constantly am he reported But the Nuggets will be fighting uphill against a depth disadvantage Twice in a row they have been unable to close out the younger and more inexperienced Thunder After taking a - series lead Denver held a lead of eight or more points in the fourth quarter of consecutive losses That s the thing We re playing a good battle Murray stated I just think we let it slip away at the end Our rotations just weren t on point to end the battle We may have scored and they were coming back and we re calling two different defenses You just mess up and rotations may not be there So it s a rough one It s a rough one Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis