Brooklyn @ Denver preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 29, 2017 ) Denver 124, Brooklyn 111

D'Angelo Russell was acquired by the Brooklyn Nets to be a difference-maker and the early returns are favorable. Russell has scored 23 or more points in four of his first nine contests with Brooklyn and looks to add another one to the tally when the Nets visit the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday in the third stop of a five-game road excursion.

Russell scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter of Monday's 98-92 victory over the Phoenix Suns and is averaging 21.3 points and 5.6 assists. "I just wanted to win. I did whatever it took to win," Russell said after helping the Nets end a four-game slide. "You get tired of losing after a while and this is something to build off of." The Nuggets are 2-1 on a six-game homestand after suffering a 127-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday in a contest in which none of the starters scored in double digits. "Our starting team in the third quarter didn't have a lot of energy and when things went south we didn't fight or compete," Denver coach Michael Malone said of being outscored 43-21 in the stanza. "That was a little disappointing."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), Altitude (Denver)

ABOUT THE NETS (4-6): Small forward DeMarre Carroll is also fitting in well after two seasons in Toronto and contributed 14 points and a season-high 11 rebounds against Phoenix. Carroll has scored in double digits in eight of nine games played and is averaging 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds. The 31-year-old's early season play is reminiscent of his stellar 2014-15 season with Atlanta when he averaged 12.6 points and made a career-high 120 3-pointers for the Hawks' 60-win squad.

ABOUT THE NUGGETS (5-5): Denver is a porous 28th in the NBA in free-throw percentage (71.8) and Malone is frustrated by the situation. "We're an awful free throw shooting team," Malone told reporters. "We can't be 28th in free-throw percentage and expect to win a lot of close games." Guard Jamal Murray (95 percent) and center Nikola Jokic (91.7) are enjoying stellar success from the line but at the other end of the spectrum is center Mason Plumlee (44.8) and guard Will Barton (59.3).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Nuggets defeated the Nets 124-111 on Oct. 29 behind a season-best 26 points from Murray.

2. Brooklyn reserve Trevor Booker (back) will likely miss his third straight game, while fellow F Rondae-Hollis Jefferson (hip) is questionable after leaving Monday's contest.

3. Barton scored 21 points against Golden State for his second 20-point outing of the season.

PREDICTION: Nuggets 113, Nets 97