The Denver Nuggets are beginning to hit their stride following an 0-3 start to the season and will go for a fourth straight win Saturday against the Golden State Warriors on the road.
Wins over Detroit, Houston and Utah have evened Denver's mark. In a 104-84 drubbing of the visiting Jazz Friday night at the Pepsi Center, reserve Corey Brewer scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and Kenneth Faried added 18 points and 10 rebounds for Denver.
"His energy is contagious," Nuggets head coach George Karl said of Faried. "It is a big part of why we're successful and it is going to have to be a big part of what we do this year.
Faried has scored 15 or more points in four straight games and is averaging 17.8 ppg and 11.5 rpg in that stretch.
Andre Iguodala tallied 15 points and seven boards, while Kosta Koufos finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, which shot 43.5 percent and converted 18 Utah turnovers into 23 points. The Jazz were down by as many as 21 points and struggled from beyond the arc, making only 4-of-23 3-pointers.
Timofey Mozgov made his season debut for the Nuggets after missing the first five games with a left knee strain. He had four points and four rebounds.
The Nuggets had 12 blocks Friday and are 2-0 when swatting that many shots this season. They were 4-0 when that occurred last season.
Denver, which hasn't won three in a row since closing out last season with four straight victories, will play two straight and five of its next six games away from the Rocky Mountains.
Golden State has alternated wins and losses through its first six games and is coming off Friday's 101-77 setback to the dysfunctional Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers announced prior to the game that they fired head coach Mike Brown, and the team responded by making 40 percent of its shots. Kobe Bryant led the charge with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson scored 18 and 15 points, respectively, for the Warriors, who made only 33.7 percent from the field and their 19 turnovers were converted to 22 L.A. points. Thompson has scored in double figures in a career-best 20 games in a row.
"They dominated us on the offensive boards," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "We had too many turnovers. We just didn't take care of the basketball."
David Lee recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards.
The Warriors won two of three meetings with Denver a season ago, but the Nuggets have taken nine of the last 12 matchups overall.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.