WASHINGTON -- The Washington Wizards posted their lowest point total in more than a month and had no qualms. Their defense finally showed up.

Bradley Beal scored 26 points, and John Wall and Markieff Morris added 15 apiece as the Wizards fended off the Denver Nuggets for a 92-85 win Thursday night.

Wall wasn't close to the career-high 52 points he scored Tuesday in Washington's 124-116 home loss to the Orlando Magic, but he provided nine points in the fourth quarter Thursday.

Denver only had 12 in the final period, including four over the last 10 minutes, and finished with 29 turnovers.

"We were talking, communicating on the defensive end. Everybody was on the same page," Beal said.

The Wizards (8-13) outscored the Nuggets 45-33 in the second half one game after allowing the Magic to record a season-high point total.

"It's proven. That should be our M.O. moving forward," Beal said. "Pride ourselves on our defense. No matter what is going on (on offense), we get stops and control what we can control. When we have that mentality, we're going to be really good."

Nikola Jokic amassed 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Danilo Gallinari scored 14 for the Nuggets, who have lost five of six. Denver (8-15) played without point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who tweaked his right ankle Wednesday at Brooklyn.

The Nuggets led by 14 points in the first quarter Thursday but faded over the final three periods one night after losing 116-111 to the Nets.

"The starting group came out pretty strong today. We won the first half in general," said Denver reserve and leading scorer Wilson Chandler, who only had five points. "I think we got tired in the second half. ... We have to finish games."

Neither offense popped in the fourth quarter. Wall's jumper gave Washington the lead for good at 83-81 with 7:29 remaining. The point guard and Beal scored the final 11 for the Wizards, who won for the second time in three games.

Wall, Beal and Morris were the only Wizards to attempt a free throw, finishing a combined 16 of 17. Denver went 16 of 24 while shooting 40.8 percent from the field and 7 of 32 on 3-pointers. Washington hit 44.9 percent of its field-goal attempts.

"It wasn't the prettiest game, but we fought, we battled, we stayed in front of our men. We did a good job guarding," Wizards coach Scott Brooks said.

The Nuggets missed 17 of 18 from beyond the 3-point arc in the second half.

Denver rallied against Brooklyn after a lackluster start dropped them into a 29-point hole. Looking for more energy Thursday, coach Mike Malone altered his starting lineup and rotation. Regular starting forward Kenneth Faried did not play.

"Trust me when I tell you we're not struggling because I took Kenneth Faried out the lineup," Malone said. "It was just me trying to find a group of guys, trying anything to see if we could get off to a better start."

The new look worked early. Denver pulled ahead with a 20-4 run and led 29-18 after the first quarter behind eight points from Gallinari.

Beal led all first-half scorers with 12 points as the Wizards closed within 52-47 entering halftime as the two sides combined for 24 turnovers.

Morris scored 10 points in the third quarter as the Wizards entered the final period leading 75-73.

Jusuf Nurkic scored 13 points for the Nuggets. Jameer Nelson replaced Mudiay in the starting lineup and finished with 10 points and eight assists in 35 minutes.

NOTES: As part of the lineup shakeup, Nuggets F Darrell Arthur made his first start of the season. He scored six points in 20 minutes. ... Washington C Ian Mahinmi (knee) missed his sixth consecutive game and 20th this season. ... Denver swept the 2015-16 season series 2-0 while averaging 116.5 points. ... The Nuggets play at the Orlando Magic on Saturday in the penultimate contest on their six-game road trip. ... Washington wraps up its three-game homestand Saturday against Milwaukee. The Wizards took three of four from the Bucks last season.