Michael Malone is banking on some young legs to help the Nuggets (4-0) get through the busiest part of their early-season schedule.

Monday’s 110-102 win against the Jazz was Denver’s third in the last four days. The busy stretch continues with Wednesday’s game in Minnesota and another back-to-back at home on Friday and Saturday.

“Hopefully our young players can help us get through that,” Malone said prior to Monday’s game.

The four youngest players in Denver’s rotation are all reserves, and they stepped up Monday. Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson are 21, while Christian Braun and Zeke Nnaji are 22. That group has been a positive to start the season thanks in large part to a defensive scheme that has Denver switching every screen, something they don’t do when Nikola Jokic is on the court.

“That bench unit had some really good stretches tonight. That’s such a big part of this team right now,” Malone said postgame. “That group is kind of forming an identity in front of our eyes right now.”

The identity isn’t all that different from the one the Nuggets found success with at the end of last season. Even though Bruce Brown isn’t around, defense is at the core of that identity, while Jamal Murray and Reggie Jackson can handle more of the responsibilities in the half-court offense.

“It’s got to be a similar thing to what it was last year,” Christian Braun said in the postgame locker room. “I think that it’s going be defense-first. We’re always going to have Mal out there with us, Reggie handling the ball. We’re always going to have people out there with us that can help us handle it, but the second unit’s always got to have defense first then run in transition. We’re so much better, just like we were last year, when we’re getting stops and not taking it out of the basket.”

Braun, who closed the game in place of Michael Porter Jr., led the reserves with nine points and eight rebounds. The rebounding was one of Malone’s pregame points of emphasis. Nnaji added six points, three rebounds and a couple of steals. The biggest play of Nnaji’s night was an offensive rebound in a crowd. Then, he went up and dunked it over Walker Kessler, one of the premier young defensive post players in the NBA.

“The crowd went crazy. The bench went crazy. Zeke is just working on that glass and going up and finishing with authority against a very good shot blocker,” Malone said.

“Zeke has kind of been the anchor to that in terms of size, physicality, rebounding. It’s been really fun to watch. I’m proud of him.”

A lopsided score Sunday allowed the reserves to get some extra run in Oklahoma City, while the starters rested. The bench took advantage, combining for 45 points. There wasn’t as much opportunity Monday, but all five of Denver’s reserves were positive in plus-minus through the first three quarters. Watson added five points and a block, while Strawther and Jackson each scored four points. Denver finished with a 28-18 edge in bench points Monday.

“That group is versatile. On top of that, they’re just flying around. How hard they’re playing right now, for me, it really jumps off the film when you watch it. You can feel it during the game,” Malone said pregame. “They know that if they’re going to be effective, they can’t trade baskets. They have to get stops. They have to gang rebound, and we have to get out and run and play with pace and play with an attack mindset. I think that group has done that at a pretty high level early in this season, considering they didn’t have any minutes together in the preseason.”

NUGGETS 110, JAZZ 102

What happened: The Nuggets lead by 10 at the end of the first quarter thanks to Jamal Murray’s step-back 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds of the opening quarter. Denver extended the lead to 58-45 at halftime. The Jazz trimmed a couple of points off the lead in the third quarter and closed within five points early in the fourth. It was again a five-point game inside the final two minutes before Nikola Jokic’s three-point play and a Utah goaltend put Denver up eight points inside the final minutes.

What went right: Jamal Murray’s shot wasn’t falling at its typical rate, but he continued his improvement as a true point guard. After making just 7 of his 19 shots, Murray dished out 14 assists with just three turnovers. Jokic joined Murray with 11 assists, part of his second triple-double in four games. The Nuggets finished with a 32-to-12 assist-to-turnover ratio.

What went wrong: Nuggets coach Michael Malone stressed rebounding pregame, but the bigger Jazz finished with a 51-43 advantage on the boards. Utah finished with 17 offensive rebounds, which turned into 19 second-chance points. Lauri Markkanen led all players with 14 rebounds, while Walker Kessler added 13. Jokic led the Nuggets with 10 rebounds. To make matters worse, the Nuggets went just 7 of 15 on free throws.

Highlight of the night: Zeke Nnaji had his best sequence of the season early in the second quarter. After Peyton Watson missed a pull-up jumper, Nnaji grabbed the offensive rebound in a crowd of Jazz players. Despite giving up a few inches to Walker Kessler, Nnaji went right back up and dunked over Utah’s 7-footer, putting Denver up 11 points.

Up next: The Nuggets are off to Minnesota for Wednesday’s game against the Timberwolves.