Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman said he was pleased with how DaRon Holmes II performed in his first career start on Friday, with the team down its top two centers.

Holmes finished with three points, six assists and four rebounds in a 113-108 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena. He made just one of his six shot attempts, but he was a team-high plus-nine in 24 minutes as the Nuggets dropped to 1-3 on their seven-game road trip.

Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 34 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Tim Hardaway Jr. tallied 15 points and Spencer Jones added 13 points and six rebounds. Zeke Nnaji added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench.

Playing without Nikola Jokić and Jonas Valančiūnas, who are both out for at least the next four weeks, Adelman turned to Holmes in the starting group. He believes Holmes will eventually settle more into that role after making just his fifth appearance of the season.

“He passed six assists,” Adelman said. “He made some really solid plays. His shot will fall. The only thing with DaRon, late in the game, I wished he would have shot three more. We create open shots; guys have to shoot them. Just because you have different names out there, basketball is basketball.”

Jokić went down with a hyperextended left knee on Dec. 29 in a loss to the Miami Heat, while Valančiūnas suffered a right calf strain two nights later in a win over the Toronto Raptors. Before those two injuries, Holmes had logged only 4 1/2 minutes for Adelman.

Holmes has mainly played in the G League after missing all of last season with a torn Achilles. He planned on spending much of the year with Grand Rapids to maximize his development, but the 23-year-old is averaging 23 minutes over his last two appearances.

The 22nd pick in the 2024 NBA draft has been one of the top players in the G League, averaging 20.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 blocks on 39% shooting from 3-point range. He ranks 34th in total points (310) and 43rd in rebounds (111).

The Nuggets are indeed attempting to figure things out on the fly without Jokić and Valančiūnas — all while spending nearly two weeks on the road. While they work to find chemistry with Holmes and others, Adelman has a simple message for the group.

“You create a good shot, shoot it,” Adelman said. “The more that we do that and the more that DaRon does that, it puts us in a good place. You’re not going to make shots every night, but take the quality ones that you create.”