Raptors lose a heartbreaker in Overtime to the Nuggets, 127-125

In a game that had a little bit of everything, the visiting Denver Nuggets escape Toronto with their first win of the season.

Exhale!

On a Monday night in late October, the Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets played what may end up being one of the best games of the season. It’s a bold statement to make less than 2 weeks into the season, but this matchup had everything. There was a 40-piece by Denver’s MVP and a near triple-double by Toronto’s MVP. There was a Protestor who stormed the court, and a bench(coach)-clearing scuffle (separate incidences). There were multiple posterizing dunks and a plethora of incredible passes. By the end of the night, the Nuggets left Scotiabank Arena with its first victory of the season, a 127-125 overtime thriller over the Raptors.

Denver was led by 3-time MVP, Nikola Jokic, who scored 40 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. His running mates, Aaron Gordon (16 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists) and Jamal Murray (17 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists) posted near triple-doubles.

Scottie Barnes had another all-round performance, racking up 21 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, and 5 steals before exiting the game late in the 4th quarter with an injury. RJ Barrett made his season debut, scoring 20 points in 28 minutes. Barrett missed the first three games of the season after injuring his shoulder during the preseason. Along with Barnes, Jakob Poeltl also collected his first double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points, and 19 rebounds (8 offensive).

Toronto led for most of the night, grabbing the lead early in the second quarter, growing it as high as 15 points, and never relinquishing it until (literally) the last second of regulation. After Barnes hit a three from above the break to extend the lead to 112-102 with 2:02 remaining, the Nuggets scored in each of its next 6 possessions, including a game-tying reverse layup by Murray with 0.3 seconds remaining in regulation.

It’s early in the season but the Raptors are starting to carve out an identity as a scrappy bunch. Progress and victories will come from a few key areas: transition, crashing the glass, points in the paint, and contributions from the rookies.

The Raptors went into halftime with a 62-54 lead on the heels of each of those checkboxes. Toronto was +5 in transition points, +12 in field goal attempts, +14 in points in the paint, and +6 in bench scoring. Leading the way for the reserves again were Jamal Shead and Jonathan Mogbo. The proverbial book is not out on Shead yet, which works to the diminutive guard’s advantage. On consecutive possessions, the Nuggets tried posting up the rookie guard. Shead blocked Murray on the first possession, although a late blocking foul negated the stop. On the next possession, Shead forced a Gordon turnover as he tried backing down Jamal. Similar to the Sixers game where he led all players in plus/minus, Mogbo led all players at the half. Granted, plus/minus isn’t a reliable catch-all metric, but in Mogbo’s case, it matches the eye test.

The game was halted when an animal rights protestor stormed the court on Denver’s side as the Nuggets were about to get into their offensive set. Security was quick to grab the individual and take him out of the arena. He will likely face trespassing charges, according to Raptors PR.

The intensity cranked up a level early in the 4th quarter. Russell Westbrook committed a hard foul on Scottie Barnes as he attempted a fastbreak dunk. Every player on the court and, seemingly, each team’s entire group of coaches stormed the court to try and keep the peace. Westbrook was assessed a Flagrant-1 foul, while Gordon and Barnes were each assessed technical fouls for the post-whistle scuffle.

After leading by as much as 15 in the second half, the Raptors played what could best be described as a ‘prevent defense’ while nursing a double-digit lead over the final two minutes. Toronto defended tightly without fouling, prevented any threes, and laid off the aggression when the Nuggets got into the point (to avoid and-ones).

With the Raptors up 4 with just over 30 seconds to play, Barnes missed a short jumper in the lane, then was accidentally elbowed in the eye by Jokic. Toronto’s best player was suddenly out of the game with his team clinging to a dwindling lead.

After reducing the lead down to two again, Agbaji was sent to the line to try and protect a two-possession lead. He split the free throws and, for the first time since early in the second quarter, the Nuggets had a chance to tie the game. Jokic pirouetted his way into a lay-in, trimming the lead down to 113-112. Mitchell was subsequently fouled and also was only able to split the free throws. Nursing a 114-112 lead with 9.2 very long seconds to defend, the Raptors simply could not keep Denver at bay for any longer as Murray hit a reverse layup with 0.3 seconds remaining. Comeback complete. On to overtime!

Denver had all the momentum heading into overtime. The Nuggets scored on the first 3 possessions of overtime (after scoring in the final 6 possessions of regulation), never relinquishing the lead. As has been the case since the opening game stinker, the Raptors proved to be a scrappy bunch, staying within striking range. With Denver up 127-125, Christian Braun missed a three with 12 seconds remaining. The rebound was corralled by Poeltl who threw an outlet pass to Barrett and, despite having one timeout remaining, sped past midcourt, launching a possible game-winning three-pointer. The shot missed, as well as Agbaji’s last-gasp tip-in attempt.

The Raptors face the Hornets in Charlotte on Wednesday before returning home for back-to-back games against the Lakers and Kings. Darko Rajakovic may not believe in moral victories, but at the very least, his squad is scrapping and clawing its way past expectations!