The Denver Nuggets suffered a surprising 128-117 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, even though Dub Nation was without their core stars. Nikola Jokic put up a masterclass 35-20-12, but it wasn’t enough.
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Denver has had an interesting season up to this point. They’ve dealt with a fair share of injuries, and because of it, haven’t been able to win consistently. Even Jokic missed 17 games dealing with a hyperextended left knee.
As of now, the Nuggets are 36-22. It’s a solid record. But they sit third, eight games out of first place in the Western Conference. That’s worrying since they were considered title contenders alongside the OKC Thunder at the start of the campaign. This situation probably prompted Jokic to express concerns for his team going into the final stretch of the season.
“I’m definitely concerned because we are losing the games, and we’re not creating open looks. So, that’s something that we need to change. Hopefully, we get better. I don’t know what it is, but we need to figure it out,” Jokic told the media after the loss against the Warriors.
The three-time MVP sounded genuinely worried about the current state of his team. They are still winning games at a 62% clip and are on pace for a better record than last season. But Jokic doesn’t think that the current level of play will earn them a title.
Nikola Jokic on if he’s concerned about the Nuggets clutch struggles ️
“I’m definitely concerned because we are losing the games. And we are not creating open looks. So that’s something that we need to change.”
“I don’t know what it is, but we need to figure it out.” pic.twitter.com/Nd2gy8K4La
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) February 23, 2026
The Nuggets seem to be a bit of a mirage. They’re 16th in the league in clutch games, losing 14 of 30 games that went to the wire so far. When they have a comfortable lead, they can get the wins.
Meanwhile, head coach David Adelman was also not happy with the effort from his team today. “We were not ready to play. This has been a tough weekend for us with the game time, the back-to-back, and all that,” he said.
“But that has nothing to do with your approach to the game. We gave them confidence early. Their energy surpassed ours; they played harder,” added Adelman.
The coach has spoken the plain truth. Golden State jumped out to a 12-point lead after the first quarter and extended it to 14 in the second. Denver tried to play catch-up, and they did. But they couldn’t fend off another tidal wave of offense from Brandin Podziemski, who scored 14 points in the fourth.
“This game came down to the start of the game. We were not ready to play.” – David Adelman ️
“This has been a tough weekend for us with the game time, the back-to-back and all that. But that has nothing to do with your approach to the game. We gave them confidence early.” pic.twitter.com/pRCyZGWRhT
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) February 23, 2026
The trade deadline has already passed, so the Nuggets are going to have to fix their issues in-house. The good news is that Jokic now looks fully healthy. Also, other key players like Cameron Johnson are starting to ramp up into consistent minutes.
But without Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson, the Nuggets might have a tough time winning games consistently for now. Especially since they play teams like the Boston Celtics, OKC Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Lakers in the coming days.
It will be interesting to see how they fare in this stretch. Don’t be too surprised if they begin to fall down the Western Conference ladder.
