David Adelman earned his money Sunday.

“There was a timeout where I just looked back at my day,” the Nuggets’ first-year coach said after a 116-93 win over the Warriors at Ball Arena. “I woke up this morning thinking Aaron Gordon is going to start.”

After a brief stint at full strength, the Nuggets were again shorthanded when their starting power forward was ruled out prior to the game with left calf tightness. Peyton Watson, who is still under a minutes restriction, started in his place.

Things got worse when Spencer Jones exited with hamstring tightness after playing the final six minutes of the first quarter. Cam Johnson was the second forward to exit the game with what the team called back spasms, though he appeared to grab the left side of his ribcage when he walked off the court in the third quarter.

“It’s super tough, but we’ve been kind of going through that the whole year,” reserve guard Bruce Brown said of adjusting on the fly. “A lot of guys (are) stepping up. It’s tough to see guys go down, especially mid-game but we’re a deep team, so guys can fill in when we need them.”

The poor injury luck continued later in the third when Kristaps Porzingis landed on Zeke Nnaji. The team called Nnaji’s injury left hip impingement, and he left the arena on crutches.

“I thought Zeke was really impactful. Then, he went out,” Adelman said.

“I give the smalls a lot of credit. We had smaller guys guarding Porzingis, and they were fighting him. They were trying to front him, because that’s your only choice.”

Johnson returned to the bench for the start of the fourth quarter with a wrap around his midsection, but none of the three returned to the court. Without four forwards who started the day expected to be available, Adelman went to back-up center Jonas Valanciunas, who hadn’t played in nearly two weeks, and a group of guards to start the fourth quarter. That group added two points to the lead when Nikola Jokic, Christian Braun and Watson returned to the court with seven minutes to play.

“We’re just trying to get stops and get out and run,” Brown said. “We knew they were cross matching. When they do that, the best offense is transition or throwing it into Jonas, and he’ll make the right play.”

Nikola Jokic led the way with 25 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. Jamal Murray added 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Tim Hardaway Jr. (16), Brown (15), Christian Braun (12) and Peyton Watson (10) scored in double figures.

Kristaps Porzingis and Brandin Podziemksi scored 23 points apiece to lead the Warriors. Adelman didn’t anticipate having any injury updates until sometime Monday. He wasn’t sure if there were any plans to do medical imaging ahead of Wednesday’s game in Utah, but there’s a chance the Nuggets could once again be without a group of forwards.

“I’m hoping for good news tomorrow. It’s nice to have these two days between the next one,” Adelman said.

“It’s never a guard and a forward or a guard and a center. It’s just like the whole group goes out. We’ll adjust as we need to, to try and win the next game.”

NUGGETS 116, WARRIORS 93

What happened: Golden State led by five after the first quarter and took a 53-46 advantage to halftime. Denver led by 12 to start the fourth and extended a win streak to six games.

What went right: The Nuggets struggled to track Kristaps Porzingis on the perimeter. Golden State’s big man made all five of the 3-pointers he attempted.

What went wrong: Denver finished with a 43-25 advantage in bench points. The Nuggets also finished with a 22-13 advantage in points off turnovers.

Highlight of the night: Bruce Brown splashed a 3-pointer from 30 feet out to beat the shot clock early in the second quarter.

Up next: The Nuggets have a couple of days off before Wednesday’s game against the Jazz in Utah.