You don’t have to look too closely to see the smiles on the Nuggets’ players faces during games.
They’re just enjoying themselves more.
The reason has everything to do with the style of play. The run/jump athletes get to do just that — run and jump. And run and jump some more.
The New York Knicks tried to slow that down, but in the end they couldn’t, and the Nuggets pulled away for a 106-78 victory on Monday night at the Pepsi Center. It was the Nuggets’ third win in their last five games and it stopped a two-game losing streak.
“Just a good team effort,” Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt said. “In the locker room, we’ve been talking a lot about putting together as close to a 48-minute game as we can.”
Kenneth Faried is among the Nuggets most pleased that pushing the pace at all times is back.
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“I’m able to run,” Faried said. “I’m able to play in open space and play my game. I’m able to push the ball if I need to. The starters, when we’re on the court, we have five guys who can get to the paint at any time, and we have five guys who can push the ball at any time.”
And Faried has flourished, averaging 15.0 points and 11.6 rebounds since Hunt took over for Brian Shaw and restored the running. Both of those numbers are well over his season averages, and he kept that rolling Monday night with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
“It’s fun,” Faried said. “When you’re able to play like this and just space the floor and basically run up and down the court, it’s fun. It’s exciting. The fans love it, we love it, and we’re going to keep trying to play like this.”
In the first quarter, however, the Knicks ground the game to a halt. They were methodical on offense and just generally fouled a lot on defense. So the Nuggets often marched to the free-throw line but couldn’t get pace into the game until the second quarter. And that began with defense.
Once the Nuggets got stops, the fast breaking commenced. Denver outscored the Knicks 30-15 in the second quarter and ended that period on a 12-0 run. A 10-5 spurt to start the third made the Nuggets’ run 22-5 as their lead ballooned to 20. During that stretch, the Knicks went 4:17 without scoring a point.
“It’s no secret: When we hold teams under 100 and come out with a defensive mind-set, we win games. Bottom line,” Hunt said. “If we don’t come out with a defensive mind-set, it’s hit or miss.”
Meanwhile, the Nuggets’ offense started to hum. They had been shooting 46 percent under Hunt, and that continued Monday. They closed the third on a 14-0 run, at one point led by 34 — their biggest lead in any game this season — and shot 43.7 percent from the field for the game.
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“I think it’s just us moving the ball and just sharing it,” forward Wilson Chandler said. “Everybody touching the ball, it just makes you want to play. It’s a lot of fun, and I’m used to it. That’s how I’ve been playing since I came into the league. So, I’m comfortable.”
So are the rest of his teammates.
And, for the first time this season, it shows.
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or
