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Jersey Boys Faried, Foye clicking for Denver Nuggets

Kenneth Faried grabbed the rebound and immediately pushed the ball up the floor.

As he neared midcourt, he zipped a pass to Nuggets teammate Randy Foye near the left corner and then kept sprinting toward the basket.

“We’ve got this connection going now,” Faried would later say.

Without breaking stride or eye contact, Faried rose to the rim and caught a perfect give-and-go lob pass from Foye and slammed it with two hands.

The Newark, N.J., natives twice connected on fast break alley oops in Denver’s victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday. Faried also returned the favor by setting up Foye for two perimeter jumpers.

“I don’t think anybody in the league can stop us when we start doing that – me finding him for 3s and him finding me for lobs,” Faried said.

Fittingly, Foye and Faried share adjacent lockers and frequently refer to themselves as the “Jersey Boys.”

It’s been a mutually beneficial relationship, with the 24-year-old Faried keeping his 30-year-old veteran teammate on his toes. In turn, Foye keeps his young, energetic teammate in check.

“Kenneth is learning every single day,” Foye said. “We have built a relationship where it’s a big-brother, little-brother relationship. On the court, I can get on him and he responds the next play. And if I’m not doing something, he can say something to me. We’re building chemistry.”

Faried and Foye have been clicking during Denver’s three-game win streak.

Faried made his first career game-winning shot to beat Golden State and followed that with his first career 20-20 game against Utah. For the week, he averaged 21.7 points and 15.7 rebounds while shooting .556 from the field.

Not to be outdone, Foye is averaging 25.3 points, 9.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds during the win streak. He is also shooting nearly 50 percent from 3-point range while chasing Dale Ellis’ single-season 3-point mark.

Foye needs six 3-pointers to tie Ellis, who made 192 from behind the arc in 1996-97.

As the Nuggets play their final two games, don’t be surprised to see Faried earn the assist on the record-breaking shot.

“They’ve gotten to understand where each other likes the ball and they make eye contact with each other,” Denver coach Brian Shaw said. “That’s why when you have a core group, you have to keep them together for a while.”

After a productive first season as teammates, the Jersey Boys have no plans to break up anytime soon.