A tightly contested game in Devner as Kenneth Faried scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets opened the season with an 89-79 win over Detroit, spoiling the debut of Pistons new head coach Stan Van Gundy. Neither team led by more than 6 points at any time during the game in the first half, and each squad scored only 19 points during the second quarter.
Arron Afflalo, is back with the Nuggets after being acquired in an trade this offseason with Orlando and he dropped 15 points. Timofey Mozgov contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets as well as contributing some great hustle plays towards the end of the game.
Detroit’s leading scorer last year, Josh Smith, had 25 points with 5 rebounds and 3 assists to lead the Pistons. Smith and Faried battled all night. D.J. Augustin, newly acquired from the Bulls, added 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Detroit managed only one basket in the last three minutes of play. Afflalo hit consecutive baskets for the Nuggets, including a huge shot from deep, as part of a 9-0 third-quarter run that put Denver in front 64-59. The Pistons responded with a small run of their own with a lay-in by Jonas Jerebko and a pair of shots from the charity stripe by D.J. Augustin and trailed 65-63 going into the fourth.
Denver, pulled away fast, as they usually do, with eight straight points in the closing minutes of the final quarter, including a tip-in hustle play by Mozgov.
The team is coming off a disappointing 36-46 campaign marked by huge injuries to important key players, including Nate Robinson, Danilo Gallinari, J.J. Hickson and JaVale McGee. But all four are healthy now and it just might be the key to any Nuggets success.
Check out full game highlights from ESPN.com
