Not much has been easy for the Nuggets this season, even when they win by double figures. Jamal Murray scored 21 of his 34 points during a 6-for-9 third quarter, giving Denver a 25-point lead that was just enough to survive Detroit’s late push in a 134-121 win on Saturday night at Ball Arena. “I should never have had to put my starters back in, and that’s a shame. But happy with the win, as you can tell,” a sarcastic Michael Malone said. “I’m really excited.” The Nuggets (17-13) improved to 6-0 this season on 24 hours of rest. Their latest back-to-back triumph came on the heels of a defensive nadir Friday when they gave up 149 points to the Cavaliers. Nikola Jokic went for 37 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, carried by a 4-for-4 start from the 3-point line. Michael Porter Jr. went 5 for 7 beyond the arc for 26. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, front, looks to pass the ball as Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) But the Pistons, winners of three straight coming in, have been remarkably adept at pulling off dramatic rallies. They whittled away in the fourth quarter and got it as close as seven with 2:35 to play after Denver got sloppy with the ball and complacent getting back on defense. “We messed with the game tonight,” Malone said. “I’m just disappointed. We messed with the game tonight. We tell (our players) going into the fourth quarter, that team has come back plenty fo times this year from big deficits and won. They never quit. That’s a hard-playing team. … And everything we told them — they’re gonna run, they’re gonna crash, they’re gonna leak out — we just let them do it.” For the second consecutive game since Aaron Gordon reaggravated his right calf, Malone rounded out his starting unit with Russell Westbrook over Peyton Watson, who had replaced Gordon at the four during a 10-game absence earlier in the season. By opting to go smaller, Denver instead pushed Porter to the four. “It’s not written in stone (that Westbrook will start every game with Gordon out),” Malone said. “… Russell’s been great for us as a starter. What he does out there defensively, offensively, play-making, toughness, hustle, energy, I think he’s been a real positive addition. So that’s part of it. When Russell starts, we play really well. And also it was who we were playing, with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. One of the elite backcourts in the NBA. … Cade Cunningham and (Jaden) Ivey, that’s another really potent backcourt that we’ll have our hands full with.” Cunningham and Ivey scored 17 points each in the loss. But it took Denver time to get defense into the game. The Pistons got to the rim with ease off the dribble throughout the first quarter, scoring 20 of their 38 points in the paint. Cunningham had 11. The second unit managed to set a different tone. In their previous eight games, the Nuggets had won Jokic’s rest minutes by 12 cumulative points, never finishing worse than a minus-seven during that stretch. Jokic’s first bench stint on Saturday was a minus-two, steady enough to keep a small deficit from getting out of hand. Other than Ausar Thompson’s filthy dunk over Watson as Jokic was preparing to return, Detroit’s diet of interior baskets ran out. Denver took a 67-61 lead by halftime, eventually remaining undefeated this season after leading at the break. But first, the Nuggets’ starters had to check back in during the final stanza, after the worst bench stint in the last couple of weeks. “It’s 30 games in. It’s maybe finding different guys that you can trust out there,” Malone said, later adding that Denver’s struggles are more than “a young guy problem.” “And Aaron being out obviously messes up your rotations and all that,” he said. “But just find a group of guys that are capable of going out there and doing the right things as long as possible. We have it at times. We have it from game to game, we have it from quarter to quarter, we have it from half to half. But it’s just been too inconsistent, and that’s why we’re 17-13.” Westbrook’s turnovers in the fourth played a part in Detroit’s run, but he had also provided an essential spark earlier. After taking exception to an offensive foul call, the veteran point guard earned a delay-of-game warning while pleading his case. Then he took out his remaining frustration by hounding Cunningham, who was trying to get separation to receive the ensuing inbound pass in the backcourt. Cunningham got fed up and pushed off, handing possession back to Denver. Westbrook stomped past the Detroit bench, chirping with the enemy and egging on the crowd. Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart each earned technical fouls in the next few minutes. Murray seized the momentum and scored 13 of the Nuggets’ points during a 20-6 run in the last 3:10 of the third quarter. The exclamation point was a steal and dunk with five seconds to go. “(The Pistons) were just getting us going, so we answered the call, that’s all,” Murray said. “If you go watch the game, you can go see (who was talking). But like I said, they got us going. Russ got it started, and we never looked back.”