The full Russell Westbrook experience unfolded in the second half of the Nuggets’ win over the Pistons on Saturday.

There was good and bad, but it was all a byproduct of Westbrook’s unwavering intensity.

“I don’t think we ever had dudes that backed down from anyone, but he definitely has contagious energy,” Michael Porter Jr. said after Denver’s 134-121 win over the Pistons. “He definitely brings that fire every night. That’s what he’s done his whole career. I think that is definitely something that is great to have on your team.”

Westbrook completed the starting five for a second consecutive game, as Aaron Gordon remained sidelined with a right calf strain. Though Westbrook, 36, recorded a couple of steals in the first 6 minutes, he also missed his only shot of the first quarter, committed a couple of early turnovers and had his playing time limited by two fouls in the first 7 minutes. In the second quarter, Westbrook made all three of his shots, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.

The impact Westbrook had on the third quarter, which Denver won 47-28, is harder to quantify.

It started when Westbrook was whistled for an offensive foul for a push-off on Ausar Thompson with the Nuggets up 11 in the final 5 minutes of the quarter. Westbrook continued his drive to the basket where Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart, not the type to shy away from conflict, tried to contest a meaningless shot and ended up bumping Westbrook, who took exception to the contact. Words were shared before Westbrook tossed the ball away, earning a warning for delaying play.

When Detroit eventually attempted to inbound the ball, Westbrook got in Pistons star Cade Cunningham’s space and drew an offensive foul of his own. He celebrated by strutting in front of Detroit’s bench as he pumped up the home crowd and slapped hands with a Nuggets fan sitting courtside.

Stewart ended up goaltending Nikola Jokic’s shot on the ensuing possession, and Westbrook let him hear about it. As the players switched ends of the court, Stewart was assessed a technical foul for getting in Westbrook’s face and continuing the contentious conversation. Jokic missed the free throw, but Westbrook achieved something.

“Hell yeah,” Jamal Murray said, confirming Westbrook’s unconventional impact. “I love it. He’s not going to stop, you know what I’m saying? He’s going to turn up the pressure. I think we all respond to different ways. Russ, he’s a talker. He lets you know about stuff. He brings energy and effort into whatever he does.”

Westbrook celebrated his ability to get under Stewart’s skin as if he had just hit a big shot. First, he clapped in Stewart’s direction. Then he asked his home crowd to make a little more noise, and the Denver faithful ate it up as he yelled toward the crowd. Denver’s lead ballooned from 11 to 25 over the final 5 minutes of the third even though Westbrook was on the bench for much of that time.

“Russ got us going,” Murray said. “Everybody was clicking and playing well after whatever was going on.”

Westbrook finished with eight points on six shots to go with nine rebounds and eight assists. He appeared to toe the line of too much excitement, as his fifth and sixth turnovers helped Detroit trim Denver’s lead to 10 in the final 5 minutes, but that combination of good and bad is what the Nuggets signed up for when they inked Westbrook to a contract this summer.

“We came out with great urgency. I liked our approach, our physicality, our discipline, our communication. We got stops. We ran. The ball was moving. It was just a really good quarter,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of the third before moving on.

“Obviously when you build a 20-something point lead, you would love to be able to, in the fourth quarter, not to have to put your guys back in. … I should never have had to put my starters back in. That’s a shame.”