DENVER (AP) — Denver coach David Adelman was ejected Saturday for the first time in his NBA coaching career.
Adelman, who took over from Michael Malone with three games left in last year's regular season and got the full-time job after leading Denver into the second round of the NBA playoffs, was tossed by official Tyler Ricks in the fourth quarter of Denver's 115-101 loss to the Houston Rockets.
Adelman, who also drew a technical foul in the first half, said he was flustered that Nikola Jokic picked up two debatable fouls early on and that he should have gotten the whistle midway through the fourth quarter and didn't.
“It felt like they had one foul with 5 minutes to go in the second quarter. And I just felt like both teams were playing so hard, extremely hard, physical," Adelman said. "I give the Rockets so much credit, they crashed the glass every time. And then we get two somewhat soft fouls on our best player — which leads to him fouling twice that are fouls and that (makes) four fouls and he's got to come out of the game.
“So, honestly, I was confused,” added Adelman. “So, I was just looking for answers and I went out there to find them and it turns out I had to leave. Sometimes confusion can lead to destructive things, right? You've got to think things through yourself sometimes."
Adelman allowed that he never got an answer: “It seemed like he just kept walking away farther and farther. I thought we would talk and it turns out they told me I had to leave. So, yeah, it was a tough night for us, for sure.”
The Nuggets trailed 80-72 at the time of his ejection. Assistant coach Jared Dudley took over after Adelman left.
Adelman said he didn't think the officiating was in any way related what happened when Rockets coach Ime Udoka drew a $25,000 fine from the NBA for publicly criticizing the officiating in Houston’s 128-125 overtime loss to the Nuggets on Monday night.
Udoka said in the postgame press conference that it was “the most poorly officiated (he’s) seen in a long time” and said the crew chief was starstruck and his two colleagues were unqualified. The fine came after the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report revealed that there were three incorrect calls in the overtime, all of which favored Denver.
“I hope that's not what happened — I don't think it was,” Adelman said, calling lead official Marc Davis “one of the best officials in the league" and adding, “I thought those other guys (Ricks and Eric Dalen) did the best they could. Like I said, I was just confused with the flow of the game. I've got to be better than that, too. The game wasn't over. I let my emotions get the best of me.”
As Adelman chased down Ricks, Rockets star Kevin Durant crossed his path while mimicking the ejection motion used by basketball referees.
Durant and former teammate Bruce Brown got into some heated exchanges earlier in the chippy game: “Some words were said that were a little disrespectful," Brown said. “So, I can't wait to see him next time.”
The teams don't play again until March.
Brown declined to reveal exactly what Durant said to him but said it crossed the line, insisting, “As a man, there's certain things you don't say to another man.”
A notorious trash talker, Durant concurred that his words indeed went too far, but he insisted that some players can hoop and talk trash at the same time and some can't.
Durant and Brown, who once played together with the Nets, really got into it after Brown's bucket pulled Denver to 69-62 in the third quarter. As officials and teammates separated them during a timeout, it appeared Durant told Brown, “ You a bum! ”
A night earlier, Brown sat between the benches wearing a hockey helmet and serving as a television color commentator during the second period of the Colorado Avalanche's 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
Asked if there are any takeaways from the National Hockey League that could maybe shape his game in the NBA, Brown cracked, “I wish there was fighting."
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Denver Nuggets assistant coach Jared Dudley looks on from the bench after taking over the team when head coach David Adelman was ejected in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman, front left, reacts after being ejected by referee Tyler Ricks, right, as assistant coach J.J. Barea, second from right, holds him back in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
