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 Faried had 22 points and 17 rebounds, guard Arron Afflalo had 15
points in his return to Denver and the Nuggets pulled away to beat
the Detroit Pistons 89-79 in the season opener for both teams on
Wednesday night.
It was a big night for Faried, who inked a four-year, $50 million
deal in training camp. He proved he was worth the investment in just
28 minutes.
"He was huge for us right from the beginning of the game," Nuggets
coach Brian Shaw said of Faried. "It's a carryover from the way he
played at the end of last season to the summer with the U.S. team,
throughout training camp."
Center Timofey Mozgov had 13 points and 11 rebounds and a key block
late to lead Denver to the win.
Forward Josh Smith led Detroit with 25 points. Guard D.J. Augustin
had 15 off the bench for the Pistons.
Starting point guard Brandon Jennings had just four shots in 20
minutes of playing time and spent the entire fourth quarter on the
bench.
"You go with the guys you think give you the best chance to win,"
said Stan Van Gundy, who lost in his debut as the Pistons coach and
president. "I wasn't really upset at him. He played most of each of
the first and third. I wasn't really down on him I just thought we
were getting more out of D.J.'s pick-and-rolls for a good part of
the game."
Augustin's play was a big reason Detroit led 68-67 early in the
fourth quarter, but then the Nuggets slumbering offense woke up.
Guard Randy Foye and forward Alonzo Gee hit consecutive 3-pointers
to put Denver ahead by five.
The Pistons cut the deficit to one when forward Wilson Chandler hit
two free throws and Mozgov had a put-back dunk.
Augustin hit a floater to cut it to 79-77 with 3:19 left, just
before Detroit center Andre Drummond fouled out of the game.
But Detroit ran out of steam down the stretch. The Pistons missed 10
of their last 12 shots to allow the Nuggets to pull away. Faried hit
two free throws and Mozgov another, and then Mozgov tipped in a miss
with 1:25 left to put Denver ahead 84-77.
He then blocked guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's layup attempt, and
the Nuggets closed it out on the line.
Gee played the entire fourth quarter after sitting for the first
three, and his defense on Augustin was a factor.
"We talk about the fact that some of the guys we added to the roster
this year bring that defensive mindset," Shaw said. "Him, Arron
Afflalo, guys like that pushing each other in practice. Games where
it's low scoring, a grind-it-out game, we have to be able to win
those type of games. Last year we were always on the short side. "
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The Nuggets won despite shooting just 35 percent from the field.
They held Detroit to 37 percent shooting, which oftentimes took the
first open shot available.
"There are certain times in game we can't take the first shot that
looks good," forward Kyle Singler said. "Sometimes we need to move
it around so guys get involved."
Faried had 11 points and eight rebounds in the first half and
brought the energy the Nuggets need to be successful this season.
"I'm looking to attack more and help my teammates by stretching the
court," he said.
Faried and Smith were the only two players in double figures at
halftime. Smith had 15 on 6-for-12 shooting.
Detroit got a boost from Augustin in the second quarter. The
seventh-year pro had eight points and three rebounds in the period
to help the Pistons cut Denver's lead to 42-40 at the break.
The Pistons were short-handed on the frontcourt with the absence of
center Greg Monroe. Monroe is serving a two-game suspension for
pleading guilty to driving while impaired in September.
"He's one of our best low-post scorers and he makes things happen,"
Jennings said of Monroe. "He was missed but other guys have to step
up."
NOTES: Nuggets F J.J. Hickson begins the season on a five-game
suspension for violation of the league's anti-drug policy. ...
Pistons F Cartier Martin (plantar fascia strain) will not dress in
the opener. G Jodie Meeks is the other inactive for Detroit. ...
Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said his plan for the three players coming
off major injuries -- F Danilo Gallinari, G Nate Robinson and C
JaVale McGee -- were to cap their minutes "in the 20s." ... Pistons
rookie G Spencer Dinwiddie played in one preseason game before the
season. Dinwiddie, who starred at the University of Colorado, missed
the last 18 games for the Buffaloes after tearing his ACL. ... The
Nuggets inactives were G Gary Harris and G Erick Green.
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