Nuggets’ David Adelman Gets Real on Missed Call vs Lakers

The Denver Nuggets fell victim to another loss to the LA Lakers over the weekend in overtime fashion, coming up short 125-127 due to a heart-wreching Luka Doncic game-winner in the final seconds of extra time.

However, the Nuggets also wound up falling victim to a missed no-call in the final minutes of regulation that could've changed the outcome of this one entirely––as the last two-minute report following the end of the game would show that Spencer Jones' personal foul on Austin Reaves with nine seconds to go was a clean strip, rather than a foul and two free throws.

Had that call have been made correctly, there's a good case to be made that the outcome of this game changes dramatically, thus resulting in a Nuggets win without having even going to overtime.

According to the NBA’s official last 2 minutes report, the foul called on Spencer Jones that sent Austin Reaves to the line with 9 seconds left should not have been called pic.twitter.com/M63CyC5smh
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) March 15, 2026

Yet, regardless of what the last two minute report shows, Nuggets head coach David Adelman isn't banking on that error as being the reason his group lost the game.

For one, from his point of view, he thought that initially challenging the call would've put Denver at risk of giving up three shots at the line rather than two.

"Obviously we don't have a camera angle that good to know if that was a clean foul," Adelman said of the missed call after a Nuggets team practice. "We're taking a foul in that situation. My initial thought when I read the last two minute report was, if we did have a view from the back of the bench, and I do challenge that, and they deem it a foul, am I putting this in a situation where now, if it's not a two shot four, it might be a three shot foul, if they deem it a foul."

Turnovers Killed Nuggets' Chances, Says Adelman

Another reason Adelman's not blaming that missed call on the Nuggets falling short? He circles the Lakers' points off turnovers as a big turning point. His group gave up 15 turnovers to LA's 15, but when paired with an excessive amount of points on the other end, that can be the difference between a win and a loss.

"So, yeah, the last two minute report, I mean, I know just be transparent with fans if they make mistakes or whatever it may be," Adelman said. "But, we lost that game because they had 33 points off our turnovers. It's not that Aaron missed a free throw, or us having three or four dagger opportunities, wide open shots, and guys miss to finish it. It's the mistakes we made throughout."

Mar 2, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman watches his team play defense during the second half against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images | Peter Creveling-Imagn Images

"When you play that well, and the one thing you're doing wrong is turning the ball over into dunks and layups; that's how a team stays in a game like that when you play that well," he continued. "We had 33 assists, 25 points on the break, 18-19 threes."

"The only way you lose that game is making mistakes with the ball, especially live-ball turnovers. So, yeah, the last two-minute report is whatever, but that's not what we lost the game."

There's a myriad of shortcomings to point to for the potential reasons of Denver's loss. A rightfully called strip from Jones may very well have flipped the script, and Doncic wouldn't even have the chance at crushing the Nuggets' hopes in overtime.

But when you begin to factor in the Nuggets' consistent woes in the clutch to help aid their dip in the West standings as of late, it's hard to say it wasn't a lack of late-game execution that wasn't the prevailing factor as to why they came up short, and now lose their first season series to the Lakers since 2021.

Adelman seemingly agrees, and thus leaves the Nuggets with tons of room to improve, especially in late-game situations, with just under a month to go in the regular season.