DENVER - With key players returning from injury and still rounding into form, the Denver Nuggets leaned on Kenneth Faried.Faried had 22 points and 17 rebounds and the Nuggets opened the season with an 89-79 victory over Detroit, spoiling Stan Van Gundys first game at the Pistons coach on Wednesday night.He was huge for us right from the beginning of the game, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. Aggressive, getting good position down low. Got their bigs in foul trouble. Once again its a carryover from the way he played at the end of last season to the summer with the U.S. team, throughout training camp.And it helped Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee and Nate Robinson, all coming off major injuries that cost them significant time last season, ease back into action.Were healthy but the guys coming back from injuries still need time to get back into the rhythm of the game, said Timofey Mozgov, who had in 13 points and 11 rebounds. Theyre going to be better and we all will get better.Arron Afflalo, in his second tour with Denver after being acquired in an off-season trade with Orlando, had 15 points. Gallinari had seven points on 1-of-8 shooting in limited action in his first game since suffering an ACL injury in April 2013.Physically, I feel good. There is no pain. Im not scared. Im ready to go, Gallinari said. I was a little rusty, but we all knew it. First game, you want to get the W, and go on to the next one.Josh Smith, Detroits leading scorer last season, had 25 points to lead the Pistons. D.J. Augustin added 15 points.The Pistons managed only one basket in the last three minutes.We didnt get good shots, Van Gundy sad. I thought most of the shots we had, we took a lot of difficult shots. We were trying to do everything on one pass. Its going to be tough. I thought we drove the ball pretty hard, drew help and then tried to force shots. We did not do a good job moving the ball.Brandon Jennings did not play in the fourth quarter and was held to four points.You go with the guys you think give you the best chance to win, said Van Gundy, opting to stick with Augustin in the late going.Said Jennings: A little surprising. It never happened before in my career. It is what it is. I just have to push through it. I thought D.J. did a good job.Afflalo hit consecutive baskets, including a 3-pointer, as part of a 9-0 third-quarter burst that put Denver in front 64-59. But the Pistons responded with a layup by Jonas Jerebko and a pair of free throws by Augustin and trailed 65-63 going into the fourth quarter.Detroit went in front 68-67 on a hook shot by Jerebko before Randy Foye and Alonzo Gee each hit 3-pointers on successive Denver possessions as the Nuggets regained the lead midway through the final period.The Pistons pulled to within 79-77 on Augustins 5-foot floater. Denver, though, pulled away with eight straight points in the closing minutes, including a tip-in by Mozgov. Lawson connected on a 17-foot step-back jumper with 6.5 seconds left in the second quarter, allowing the Nuggets to go in front 42-40 at halftime.Neither team led by more than six points in the first half, and each squad scored 19 points in the second quarter.TIP-INSPistons: Rookie guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who missed his final 18 games at Colorado last season because of a knee injury before being drafted by the Pistons, had an assist in limited action in his return to Colorado. ... Greg Monroe served the first of a two-game suspension stemming from an arrest last February on a DUI allegation.Nuggets: Danilo Gallinari, Nate Robinson and JaVale McGee, all coming off major injuries, will be eased back into action. Coach Brian Shaw said before the game that theyll be limited to about 20 minutes of playing time early on in the season. ... J.J. Hickson served the first of a five-game suspension related to a violation of the NBAs anti-drug program.PIVOTAL MOMENTWith Denver trailing 68-67, Randy Foye and Alonzo Gee hit successive 3-pointers to give the Nuggets a 73-68 lead with 8:49 left to play. Denver never trailed the rest of the way.STAR POWERChauncey Billups, who led the Pistons to a title and also starred for the Nuggets during a standout 17-year NBA career before retiring in the off-season, watched the game from a courtside seat.UP NEXTThe Nuggets head to Oklahoma City, where they went 0-2 last season, to play the Thunder on Saturday night.The Pistons continue their opening trip Thursday night at Minnesota. Dale Murphy Jersey . Five straight losses (and six in the past seven) now dot the schedule – matching their longest skid of the year – after they fell again in New Jersey on Sunday night, topped 3-2 by Cory Schneider and the Devils. Tom Glavine Jersey .Y. - Peyton Manning made his fifth MVP award a family affair. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/. -- Stacy Lewis shot 7-under 65 to lead the LPGA Tour team to the championship of the 3Tour Challenge on Tuesday. Babe Ruth Jersey . Whenever United loses, its crisis. When other top teams slip up, its the quirky nature of the Premier League. The predictable reaction speaks to the sky-high expectations for a team proven perennial contender and 13 times Premier League champion. Bobby Cox Jersey . Curlings version of the Ryder Cup will introduce a new format beginning with the 2015 event, set for Jan. 8 to 11 in Calgary, as itll be Team Canada taking on Team Europe this season and in the 2017 event, while itll be Team Canada against Team World (including the U.SAN FRANCISCO -- Bruce Bochy remembered stressing out while watching Tim Lincecum labour through the final innings of his 148-pitch no-hitter at San Diego last July. The Giants manager said there was "no chance" of stretching out his starter again Wednesday, even after Lincecum logged five hitless innings. Not with a blister forming on the tip of Lincecums middle finger. Not with the Giants owning baseballs best record. And certainly, not with more than half of the season to play. Instead, Lincecum and five relievers combined on a weird two-hitter to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 5-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. "He worked so hard out there. It was time," Bochy said. The unconventional performance included 10 baserunners -- five walks, two hits, two errors and a hit batter -- before an announced sellout crowd of 41,186 at AT&T Park that wanted to cheer history. Lincecum struck out five, walked four and hit a batter in another wild but effective start. George Kontos (1-0) retired four straight before John Baker singled through the right side of the infield with one out in the seventh against lefty Jeremy Affeldt for Chicagos first hit. The Cubs hold the longest streak in the majors without being no-hit. The last time it happened to them was 1965, when Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game for the Dodgers. "Whats the cliche? Its a game of inches," Baker said. "I think the Chicago Cubs are proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that baseballs a game of inches." Hector Sanchez hit a two-run double, and three others drove in a run to help the Giants (34-19) extend the best record in the majors. San Francisco has won six of seven after holding the Cubs scoreless in consecutive games. Edwin Jackson (3-5) gave up two runs on four hits in 5 1-3 innings for the Cubs, who have not won a road series since last September. He struck out nine and walked two. But for most of a sunny afternoon along the bay, the focus remained on whether San Franciscos staff would complete an improbable no-hitter. Lincecum had a 32-pitch first inning that ended oon Nate Schierholtzs sharp lineout to first baseman Buster Posey with runners on second and third.dddddddddddd He tossed another 20 in the second and pitched a perfect third. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner hit Schierholtz and overcame an error by shortstop Brandon Crawford on a grounder in the fourth. And after walking Emilio Bonifacio in the fifth, Lincecum got Junior Lake to ground into a double play. It was the second straight erratic outing for Lincecum. He walked six in six innings in San Franciscos 6-2 win over Minnesota last Friday. Lincecum said a tiny blister began forming on the tip of his middle finger in the third. He said its not serious, but he didnt want to risker further injury. And with a no-hitter on his resume already, he felt no need to lobby Bochy for another inning. "I think its just because I know what our bullpen is capable of," Lincecum said. "I just wanted to get the win today and put up some good numbers today, so it was good." Jean Machi got two outs on three pitches, Juan Gutierrez allowed a single to Anthony Rizzo in 1 1-3 scoreless innings and Javier Lopez recorded the final two outs in the ninth. San Francisco supplied support for the pitchers in the late innings. Pablo Sandoval and Tyler Colvin drove in a run in the sixth, and Sanchez hit a two-run double to highlight a three-run seventh that gave the Giants a 5-0 lead. Bochy said Sanchez will continue to catch Lincecum most of the season. He said the move is made, in part, to save Posey from the bumps and bruises that often come with catching Lincecum. "We have a good relationship," Sanchez said, "and we work well together." NOTES: Giants RHP Matt Cain, who missed his last start with a strained right hamstring, threw a bullpen session and is on schedule to make his next start Saturday at St. Louis. ... The Cubs have Thursday off before beginning a three-game series at Milwaukee on Friday. ...RHP Ryan Vogelsong (3-2, 3.20 ERA) starts for the Giants in the opener of a four-game series at St. Louis on Thursday. 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