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By Alex Kirschenbaum
Contributing Entertainment Writer
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The NBA has doled out a pricey punishment for second-year Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman.
During an eventual 115-101 home loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday, Adelman was whistled for an ejection by game officials.
NBA Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations, James Jones, has announced that the league is penalizing Adelman. Per a league press statement, he was hit with a second technical foul and got ejected from the game three minutes into the fourth quarter, with Denver trailing big, 89-72.
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Adelman spewed "inappropriate language toward game officials" about what he perceived to be a missed call. He then refused to depart the hardwood in a timely manner.
As a consequence, he has now been docked $35K for the violation.
Adelman was brought in to replace former championship coach Michael Malone with just three games left in Denver's 2024-25 regular season, and guided the Nuggets to the brink of a surprise second-round, seven-game upset of the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder during last spring's playoffs.
Now, Denver's roster has been thoroughly revamped for 2025-26. In addition to taking the interim tag off for Adelman, the Nuggets have also built out the club's depth around three-time MVP center Nikola Jokic.
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Jokic and longtime starters Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun have been surrounded by several critical new additions: new starting small forward Cameron Johnson and new reserves Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas.
Although the 25-3 Thunder have looked virtually unbeatable again so far this season, Denver appears to boast the talent to emerge as a potential spoiler, along with the developing San Antonio Spurs and the retooled Houston Rockets.
San Antonio and Denver are currently tied by record, 20-7, but the Spurs occupy the West's No. 2 seed, over the third-seeded Nuggets. Houston's season start was marred by an ACL tear to veteran starting point guard Fred VanVleet, but the club has compensated by redistributing his responsibilities as a playmaker to All-Star center Alperen Sengun, new All-Star trade acquisition Kevin Durant, All-Defensive Team wing Amen Thompson, and second-year guard Reed Sheppard.
At 17-8, Houston is currently the No. 5 seed in the West. The 19-8 Los Angeles Lakers are the fourth seed in the conference, but as currently constituted, they don't seem to have the necessary defensive wallop to survive the other four squads.
Understandably, the Nuggets were keyed up to take down Houston at Ball Arena on Saturday night. Adelman's frustrations with the referees clearly boiled over.
Three Rockets bore the brunt of the team's offensive output, with Durant (31 points), Sheppard (28 off the bench), and forward Jabari Smith Jr. (22) each scoring 22-plus. Only one other player, Thompson, scored in double digits with 16 points.
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