Nuggets' Adelman says Jokic's lack of free throws 'absolutely crazy' after Game 6 loss to Clippers

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Denver Nuggets interim coach David Adelman was dismayed and angered by the amount of contact the officials allowed while the Los Angeles Clippers defended Nikola Jokic in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series on Thursday night.

The Clippers' physical defense is a prime reason Denver is headed home to play yet another Game 7.

Adelman and Jokic are confident the Nuggets will fight back with their season back on the brink.

Adelman decried the lenient officiating standards in Denver's 111-105 loss in Game 6. Jokic shot only two free throws, and the Nuggets went to the line only nine times compared to the Clippers' 15 free throws while both teams appeared to be allowed to play physically.

“Nikola gets fouled a lot,” Adelman said. “I’m not sure what was happening tonight, but for him to shoot two free throws with the amount of contact that was going on out there was absolutely crazy. They put smalls on him. Those smalls were allowed to do whatever they want, so I’m really excited for Saturday that we’re going to be able to do the same thing with their best players, because if that’s the physicality we’re allowed to play with, we’ll react to it, and we will go there in Game 7.”

The group of “smalls” guarding the 6-foot-11 Jokic included 6-foot-8 Nicolas Batum, whose second-half effort played a major role in turning Game 6 in the Clippers' favor. Batum and Ivica Zubac teamed up for an effective effort against Jokic, who scored only five of his 25 points in the second half while going 2 for 9 from the field.

But even Adelman knew the officials didn't decide another close game in a series between two teams that finished the regular season with the same record.

“This is what I expected, to be honest,” Adelman said. “This felt like a seven-game series. It's an evenly matched series. There's so many good players out there, guys that can have nights.”

Nobody had a night for the Nuggets in Game 6, and that's why they're headed to Game 7.

Closeout games have been mostly a nightmare for the Nuggets since winning the franchise's only championship two seasons ago. They've lost four of their last five closeout opportunities, including two games in last year's second-round series with Minnesota.

The Nuggets had a 3-2 lead in that series, only to get thrashed by 45 points in Game 6 before losing Game 7 in their home arena — the same place they'll play the Clippers on Saturday.

Denver has lost four of its past five potential closeout games, beating only the Lakers in the first round last season — but only after losing Game 4 with a 3-0 series lead.

“It’s going to be a different team,” said Jamal Murray, who had 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in Game 6. “It’s going to be a different type of series. We’ve just got to play our game. I don’t think there’s anything to overthink. We’ve just got to come out with the same kind of desperation, the same kind of intent. I’ve played in quite a few Game 7s, so it’s 3-3. Next team wins.”

Jokic doesn't see the Nuggets' recent closeout failures as something rotten in his team. After all, Jokic and Murray led a team that closed out four opponents during that 2023 championship run.

“I’m going to approach it the same,” Jokic said. “For me, every game is really important. I want to win, so I’m going to play it as a regular game.”

The Nuggets are only hosting Game 7 because they won their final three games to hold on to the tiebreaker over the Clippers, who won eight consecutive games and 18 of 21 to close the regular season. Adelman only became Denver's head coach for those final three games after the stunning firing of Michael Malone just 23 days ago, but the new coach already has a clear message for his team heading into the series finale.

“You win those last three games not just to stay out of the play-in, but to get the home court in Game 7, and we earned it,” Adelman said. “That's what I told them. You've earned this opportunity. ... You play all year for that. We got that opportunity, and we're very excited to go back out there and play again.”

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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, second from left, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, left, and guard Kris Dunn defend during the first half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac, left, shoots as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic defends during the first half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, and Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac vie for a rebound during the first half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook, right, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic defends during the second half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac,left, and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic go after a loose ball during the second half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, right, reacts after receiving a foul call against him as forward Michael Porter Jr. stands by during the second half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana pushed Tuesday to extradite a California doctor accused of mailing abortion pills, setting up a likely test of laws designed to protect telehealth providers who ship abortion pills nationwide.

This is the second time Louisiana has pursued an out-of-state doctor under its abortion restrictions, with Republican Gov. Jeff Landry saying on social media that he wants to bring the abortion provider “to justice.” The two criminal cases pit Louisiana, which has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, against jurisdictions that have enacted what are known as shield laws for providers who facilitate abortions from afar in states with bans.

“Louisiana has a zero tolerance policy for those who subvert our laws, seek to hurt women, and promote abortion,” Landry said in a post X announcing he'd sent the extradition paperwork. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment

Remy Coeytaux, a physician in the San Francisco Bay Area, faces a criminal charge of abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Tuesday. If convicted, the doctor could face up to 50 years in jail and fines, Murrill said.

An email and a telephone message seeking comment were left for Coeytaux.

According to court documents, he is accused of mailing mifepristone and misoprostol in 2023 to a Louisiana woman who sought the medication through Aid Access, a European online telemedicine service. The woman took the pills in combination to end her pregnancy, investigators wrote in the indictment, which says authorities confirmed Coeytaux as the sender.

Murrill told The Associated Press she believes this “is not the only time he sent abortion pills into our state” and that “it probably won't be the last time we will indict him.”

The Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal advocacy group that is representing Coeytaux against civil charges, stressed that the criminal charge in Louisiana is an allegation.

“While we can’t comment on this matter itself, one thing is clear — the state of Louisiana is going after doctors for allegedly harming women, yet they are enforcing an abortion ban that puts women’s lives at risk every day,” Nancy Northup, president of the group, said in a written statement.

Coeytaux is also the subject of a separate federal lawsuit filed in July in Texas, where a man alleges the doctor illegally provided abortion medication to his girlfriend.

Medication abortion has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration since 2000. Louisiana bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest. Physicians convicted of providing abortions face up to 15 years in prison and $200,000 in fines. Last year, state lawmakers passed additional restrictions targeting out-of-state prescribers and reclassified mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances.

The law came after an arrest warrant was issued in Louisiana in a separate case for a New York doctor accused of mailing abortion pills to a pregnant minor. In that case, officials said the minor’s mother ordered the medication online and directed her daughter to take it. The mother was later arrested, pleaded not guilty and was released on bond.

That case appeared to be the first of its kind since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Louisiana also sought that doctor’s extradition, but New York Gov. Kathy Hochul refused, saying her state’s shield laws were designed to protect providers who offer abortion care to patients in states with bans or where telehealth prescribing is restricted. New York and California are among eight states with such protections, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.

FILE - Mifepristone tablets sit on a table at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Ames, Iowa, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)