(Denver, United States) – The Toronto Raptors took a three-point lead into halftime at Ball Arena on Wednesday. By the time Nikola Jokić sat down for the fourth quarter, they trailed by 23. Denver won the third 41–15 on its way to a 128–109 victory that dropped Toronto to 4–4.

RJ Barrett led the Raptors with 22 points. He had 17 by halftime, when Toronto had made 59.1 per cent of its shots and led 67–64. The Raptors had been up by as many as 10 in the second quarter. After the break, they went 5-for-23 from the floor in the third and turned the ball over seven times.

Denver got the lead back close to the basket. Jokić found Aaron Gordon for consecutive layups, the second of them putting the Nuggets ahead 70–69. Jamal Murray then set up a Jokić layup and scored on the break himself to make it 76–69. Denver finished with 76 points in the paint to Toronto’s 46.

Murray, the Nuggets’ starting guard from Kitchener, Ontario, helped push the margin into double digits midway through that quarter. He took a feed from Jokić for a layup with 4:20 left, then made two free throws 26 seconds later for an 88–78 lead. The Waterloo Region native finished with 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds in 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

Toronto still had an entire quarter to play when Jokić finished his night with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in under 30 minutes. But the Raptors began the fourth down 105–82. They won the quarter 27–23, too small a dent to bring the starters back into a close game.

Scottie Barnes finished with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists for Toronto. Immanuel Quickley added 13 points and seven assists, and Collin Murray-Boyles scored 13 on six of 10 shots. Denver got 18 points off the bench from Bryce Hopkins and 17 from Gordon, who made seven of nine attempts as the Nuggets improved to 4–3.

Team logos: Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets, via NBA.com. Matchup graphic by The Northern Current.

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