Nuggets 89, Pistons 79
Kenneth Faried finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds and host Denver survived a back-and-forth affair in the opener for both teams.
Arron Afflalo scored 15 points for the Nuggets, who shot 35.3 percent from the floor and did not hit their second 3-pointer until more than four minutes had elapsed in the second half. Timofey Mozgov was the only other Denver player in double figures, finishing with 13 points and 11 boards.
Josh Smith led the way for the Pistons with 25 points while D.J. Augustin added 15 off the bench. Detroit made just 11-of-19 free throws in a poor offensive showing in Stan Van Gundy's debut as head coach.
After Faried's jumper with 5:48 to go gave Denver a 79-73 lead, the hosts went without a basket for over four minutes but remained up five after Mozgov's free throw with 1:54 left. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed from beyond the arc on the other end and Mozgov grabbed Afflalo's miss and scored to make it 84-77 with 1:24 remaining, more than enough against a Detroit team that scored once over the final 3:18.
Smith scored 15 of his team's 21 points in the first quarter and had seven straight points for Detroit and an assist on Kyle Singler's 3-pointer to put the Pistons up 59-55 with just over four minutes left in the third. The Nuggets responded with a 9-0 run, including five points from Afflalo, but Augustin's 3-pointer early in the fourth to give Detroit a 66-65 edge.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Pistons PF Greg Monroe served the first half of a two-game suspension for a DUI. ... The teams combined to make 12-of-50 3-pointers. ... Detroit C Andre Drummond had 11 points and nine rebounds.