The Wizards have plenty to celebrate after moving to 13-5 — and 9-2 at Verizon Center, the franchise’s best start at home since the 1984-85 season. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)

John Wall handed the pick-and-roll keys off to Bradley Beal, his co-pilot in the Washington Wizards’ back court, and snuck off to the corner and waited. Atop the key, Beal worked around a screen from center Marcin Gortat. The sequence coaxed Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson a couple feet away from Wall. The slight shift was all Wall needed.

Wall, as he informed Beal he would do, dashed to the basket, leaving Lawson alone. By the time Lawson grasped the situation, Beal’s lob was floating over his head to Wall’s mitts above the rim. Wall slammed it through, completing another piece of flawless execution in the Wizards’ 119-89 victory over the Nuggets on Friday night.

“I watched how they guarded Brad all day,” Wall recalled, “and said, ‘If my guy goes in, just look for me backdoor.”

The alley-oop late in the first half was Wall’s first shot attempt. In seasons past, that would have spelled doom for the Wizards. But this season’s iteration does not depend on Wall or any other individual to generate offense. Washington’s method is communal, a formula that flourished again as six Wizards scored in double figures in the trouncing of a streaking Western Conference foe.

The triumph concluded a 4-0 homestand and improved the Wizards to 9-2 at Verizon Center — their best home start since the 1984-85 season. They are 13-5 , the second-best mark in the Eastern Conference, for the first time in four decades and have won their past three games by an average of 22.3 points.

Marcin Gortat’s three-game stretch of double-doubles came to an end with Nene’s return Friday, but Gortat still had 15 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes. (Nick Wass/AP)

“I was telling Brad on the bench in the fourth quarter that when I look at this team,” Wizards forward Paul Pierce said, “you see similarities to teams that have made long playoff runs and made it to the finals. We just have to keep building on what we have.”

Wall flirted with a triple-double but was not one of the Wizards to score in double figures. Instead, he dominated the basketball game without dominating the basketball. He pushed the pace, yet exhibited the patience that has elevated his play through 18 games, finishing with nine points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.

Defensively, he headed the Wizards’ stingy effort, helping limit the speedy Lawson, the Nuggets’ leading scorer, to 3-of-10 shooting.

“He was phenomenal,” Coach Randy Wittman said of Wall. “It was as good a floor game as you can play. It started with his defensive pressure.”

Washington’s 119 points and 35 assists marked season highs. The Wizards shot 52.9 percent and accumulated 52 rebounds while subjugating the Nuggets (9-10) to a 37.8 percent from the floor and 36 rebounds.

Kris Humphries paced the Wizards with a season-high 20 points two nights after posting a season-high 20 rebounds. Rasual Butler, who has risen from training camp invite to indispensable component in a flash, added 16 points. Kevin Seraphin also scored 16 and Gortat chipped in with 15. Beal contributed 14 and Pierce had 11.

Humphries started at power forward again for Nene, who played for the first time in five games due to right plantar fasciitis. The Brazilian bruiser admitted pain remained in the foot, but he amassed eight points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes.

John Wall was everywhere Friday — falling one point and two rebounds shy of a triple-double. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)

“We have a plan to make that thing get better,” Nene said. “When I start feeling better, we’re going to increase [the playing time].”

The Wizards weren’t completely flawless. They sputtered at the outset until Pierce, the ageless scorer, revved up his engine. With Washington down 8-2 after committing three turnovers in less than three minutes, the 17-year veteran gathered a defensive rebound and waved away Wall. He wanted to dribble the ball up the court himself.

Pierce, methodical as usual, slithered his way around Wilson Chandler and to the basket with Chandler on his hip. He drew a shooting foul and converted both free throws. The aggressiveness sparked a 9-1 run.

Beal assumed the scoring load when Pierce took a seat with eight points and 4 minutes 25 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The third-year shooting guard made three consecutive corner three pointers in 47 seconds to rouse the crowd and push the Wizards ahead, 24-21. Wall served as Beal’s personal distributor during the barrage, assisting on all three baskets with kickouts after drawing defenders.

“They just kept leaving me open for some reason,” Beal said.

While Beal totaled 11 points in the first period, Wall didn’t take a shot but controlled the contest through other avenues. The fifth-year floor general tallied five assists, two rebounds, and a monstrous block of Chandler’s finger roll to terminate a Nuggets fast break in the first period. He scored his two first-quarter points at the free throw line. The display was evidence of his maturation as a point guard.

“In the past I would’ve tried to find, search for shots,” said Wall, who finished 3 of 7 from the floor. “But the way we’re playing, the way guys are doing a good job getting open and running out on the court, it takes a lot of pressure off me to not have big scoring nights.”

The Nuggets, however, were down just two points entering the second quarter. Then Washington’s potent bench, which posted 50 points, struck again to bury Denver for good.

Led by the marvelous Butler, the Wizards struck the Nuggets with a 10-2 run to start the second quarter. The dominance continued as Wizards’ starters filtered back onto the floor. Humphries, making his sixth start of the season at power forward, shined during his second shift. He scored 11 points in the quarter — six during a two-minute, three-possession stretch — as the Wizards posted a season-high 35 points for a period.

The 12-minute stomping stretched the Wizards’ cushion to 19 points at the half. The Nuggets never cut the lead, which expanded to 34 at one point, below 17.

“From top to bottom,” Pierce said, “we are one of the deepest teams in the league with the best bench.”