The days of David Adelman tagging along are long gone.

“I went to college with Kathy. She’s been a phenomenal high school girls coach for many years in Portland,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Adelman’s older sister prior to Wednesday’s game against the Nuggets at Ball Arena. “I was really close with RJ. Then, David was always the one that was just tagging along.”

The Adelmans and Spoelstras grew up together around the Trail Blazers organization with David being the youngest of the crew. Adelman’s father, Rick, joined Portland’s coaching staff as an assistant in 1983 and served as the Trail Blazers’ coach from 1989-94. Spoelstra’s father, Jon, was a Trail Blazers executive for much of the ’80s.

“The Adelman family has meant so much to me in my career. Rick was my role model,” Spoelstra said. “That’s why I wanted to get into the profession of coaching.”

Spoelstra, 55, provided something of a blueprint for Adelman, 44, to follow. Both of the coaches in Wednesday’s game were star point guards at Beaverton’s Jesuit High Schol and went on to attend University of Portland before starting their coaching careers.

“Erik’s been a family friend,” the Nuggets’ coach said pregame. “(He’s) been unbelievably supportive of me over the years. He’s remained someone that I’ve known.”

After a short playing career in Germany, Spoelstra joined the Heat as an assistant in 1997. In 2008, he replaced Pat Riley as Miami’s coach. He’s the NBA’s longest-tenured coach, a two-time champion as head coach and the next coach of the United States’ Olympic team.

“Just to see his success over the years, it’s not surprising. He was somebody growing up I really looked up to. His personality has really shone through in Miami,” Adelman said.

“It’s so cool he’s going to coach the Olympic team. He’s the perfect person to do it. All the styles he’s coached and all the players he’s coached, he’s the kind of person you want to take that spot, especially in an Olympics we’re about to go into that’s going to be unbelievable.”

These days the Heat are built on an up-tempo brand of basketball that left Adelman emphasizing the importance of getting back on defense and being smart with their own transition opportunities. Miami had three 20-point scorers – Norman Powell (23), Andrew Wiggins (22) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (21) – in the Nuggets 122-112 victory.

Adelman’s offensive philosophy, with more Nikola Jokic touches around the elbow, reminded Spoelstra of what the elder Adelman did with Vlade Divac in Sacramento. The results were evident, as Jokic finished with 33 points, 16 assists, 15 rebounds and three steals, while Aaron Gordon (24), Tim Hardaway Jr. (18), Jamal Murray (14) and Christian Braun (11) joined Jokic in double figures as Adelman improved to 1-0 against his family friend.

All of that hanging around his sister, Spoelstra and brother R.J., who was an NBA assistant and player personnel director before his 2018 death, is paying off early in Adelman’s first season as a head coach. Those who’ve known him since he was the little brother tagging along the older siblings and their friends aren’t surprised.

“I knew I wanted to get into coaching in college. Kathy knew she wanted to get into coaching at some level in college. RJ knew he wanted to get involved in the business, but at a young age, we all just felt David would be the best of all of us. He had a different level of maturity and understanding of the game. When I was in high school and college, I was still a fan. David was dissecting it at a deeper level. Wherever Rick went, David was always at his side,” Spoelstra said.

“He’s been ready for this opportunity for a long time. I think he has a great feel for people. The basketball acumen speaks for itself. He’s had that reputation for a long time as an assistant. It is surreal.”

NUGGETS 122, HEAT 112

What happened: The Nuggets took a three-point lead on Tim Hardaway Jr.’s first-quarter buzzer beater and owned a 68-60 advantage at halftime. Denver held off the Heat to improve to 5-2.

What went right: Denver doubled up Miami on the glass in the first half. The Nuggets had a 40-19 rebounding advantage through two quarters with 14 offensive rebounds to Miami’s one. The result was a 12-3 advantage in second-chance points.

What went wrong: Miami’s bench outscored Denver’s reserves 49-31. Hardaway scored 18 of Denver’s bench points, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. led Miami’s reserves with 21 points.

Highlight of the night: Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon caught the Heat sleeping in the final minutes of the first half. With Miami in a zone defense, Gordon snuck around the right wing into the corner and cut down the baseline. Jamal Murray found Jokic in the middle of the zone on the left elbow. With all eyes on Jokic, no one picked up Gordon, who had plenty of space to elevate for an alley-oop dunk.

Up next: The Nuggets host the Warriors on Friday at Ball Arena.