America’s most beloved price-cut shopping day, Black Friday, arrives this week. Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay has gotten a jump on things by doing some slashing of his own.

Only, he’s cutting turnovers.

Miscues have been the constant cloud following Mudiay during much of his first two seasons in the NBA. He’s hoping the last three games signal a permanent change for the better. Mudiay’s committed just five turnovers in the last three Nuggets contests, and doubled down on the good feelings by dishing out 23 assists in the same span. It’s been a huge departure from what happened in the first 10 games of the season, where Mudiay committed 46 (4.6 per) and didn’t balance that out with high assist totals, only dishing out 32 in that time.

The change? Simple, Mudiay said.

“I’m not trying to make the home run play, I’m just trying to make the easy, simple play,” he said. “We said we wanted to play fast; I think early on I was playing too fast, even for myself. I figured out if I don’t have anybody in transition just bring it back out or if I see something I can take it myself.”

It’s worked. Perhaps at no other span of time in his young career has he looked more poised and in control of everything happening on the court than he has recently. Mudiay had eight assists with zero turnovers in the Nuggets’ win over Utah on Sunday.

Told that Nuggets coach Michael Malone praised his recent ability to take care of the ball, Mudiay smiled.

“That’s a good thing for coach. I’m happy he’s happy,” Mudiay said. “It’s always good seeing your coach happy and proud. But now it’s trying to do it the next game.”

Malone agreed.

“He has to continue that,” Malone said. “Slow down, take what the defense gives you. Don’t leave your feet. That’s not just him, that’s everybody. The defense will always tell you what to do. Sometimes when people try to predetermine, premeditate…you can’t do that. The defense will tell what to do, they’ll tell you what the right play is out there.”

Mudiay has removed the high degree of difficulty from his passing game, and Malone’s not so sure it needs to ever return.

“I don’t know if we need fancy stuff,” Malone said. “Does fancy stuff win you games? I’m a simple-minded guy: do the things that you need to do. How do you win in the NBA? You don’t beat yourself. That starts with your point guard.

“Move the ball. We have a saying: Early pass, easy pass. If the early pass is there, just make it.”

As a team, there is indisputable value to sharing the ball. The Nuggets are 2-1 this season when they’ve racked up 30 or more dimes. Sharing is caring. And, Malone said, it’s also part of the glue that keeps a team bonded.

“I think nothing divides a team more than selfish basketball,” Malone said. “When you’re playing together, teams come together. They feel a part of it. They dig in that much deeper on defense. (Sunday) night was good example of that.”

CHICAGO AT DENVER, 7 p.m. Tuesday, ALT, 950 AM

Spotlight on Jimmy Butler: The early-season NBA headlines are being soaked up by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan and LeBron James and James Harden, among others. But, quietly, Jimmy Butler has put together a season start worthy of his own headlines. He’s 12th in the NBA in scoring at 25.1 points per game to accompany averages of 6.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals. Butler’s shooting 47 percent from the field and 41 percent from the 3-point line.

Nuggets: The Nuggets practiced Monday, a day after their second home win out of three games on the current homestand. On the subject of the Bulls, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said “They’re playing really well. Jimmy Butler scores 40 points (Sunday night), Dwyane Wade rested. I think Fred Hoiberg does a really good job. Last year was a tough year for him, but a lot of crazy circumstances surrounding that team. But they have a lot of talent.” … Will Barton (ankle) will continue to be available for the Nuggets. He played 19 minutes in the win over Utah on Sunday, and while he’s not on an official minutes restriction, Malone said the Nuggets will slowly ramp up his on-court time from there. Mike Miller (personal reasons) is still out.

Bulls: Chicago has lost nine straight games to the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center, including last season, where the Nuggets scored 42 points in the fourth quarter to come back from 18 down and win 115-110. Tuesday night’s game is the fifth in a six-game, mostly Western Conference road trip. Guard Michael Carter-Williams is out of the game with a left knee bone bruise and a sprained wrist. Doug McDermott is also out of the game due to a concussion.