Washington @ Denver preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 8, 2017 ) Washington 123, Denver 113

The Washington Wizards had a solid start to their season at home and will try to carry over that success when they open a four-game road trip at the Denver Nuggets on Monday. The Wizards averaged 117.5 points in knocking off Philadelphia and Detroit in the nation's capital, although they hope to get more stops on the other end of the floor as the season progresses.

"We showed glimpses of when we were good, but if we don't pick up defensively on the road, we won't win any games," guard John Wall told reporters after Friday's 115-111 win over the Pistons. "We got to figure out a way to get back to playing defense consistently." Wall scored 26 points and Otto Porter Jr. broke out for 28 to go along with nine rebounds and four steals for Washington, which is looking to open 3-0 for the first time since 2005. Standing in the way is a Nuggets team that showcased a strong defensive effort to knock off Sacramento 96-79 on Saturday in its home opener. "Coming off a loss you always want to come out the next game and be aggressive," guard Will Barton told reporters, referencing a loss at Utah to begin the season. "We felt we had some lapses last game on the defensive end. We wanted to get into those guys and make them feel us."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBCS Washington, Altitude (Denver)

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (2-0): Washington has utilized an aggressive approach that yielded an average 29.5 made free throws, tops in the NBA entering Sunday. Wall led the march to the line with a 9-of-11 showing against the Pistons and fellow guard Bradley Beal has 23 attempts through the first two games. Wall and Beal combined for 53 points as the Wizards picked up a 123-113 win in their last visit to Denver on March 8.

ABOUT THE NUGGETS (1-1): Denver bucked some notable trends with its low-scoring win over the Kings by snapping a 23-game losing streak when held under 100 points and surviving an affair in which star forward Nikola Jokic was held scoreless. "You don't have to score to be effective," forward Paul Millsap said of Jokic, who chipped in nine rebounds and seven assists. "There are only a certain amount of guys in this league who can do that and he's one of those guys. He's willing to sacrifice and try to get everybody else involved." Millsap scored 18 points in his home debut with the Nuggets while backup Kenneth Faried matched him in just 23 minutes.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Jokic, who averaged 17.7 points after the All-Star break last season, has seven points on 3-of-13 shooting through the first two games.

2. Wizards C Marcin Gortat is averaging 13.5 rebounds and shooting 61.1 percent.

3. The teams alternated season series sweeps over the past five years, with Washington taking both meetings in 2016-17.

PREDICTION: Nuggets 109, Wizards 107