Quick Reaction: Nuggets 106, Raptors 103

Fumbled a great no-look Scottie Barnes pass right under the rim that should’ve been a free two points in the first quarter. Followed up with two missed three-pointers that Raptor fans have gotten used to seeing Mamu knock down. The poor shooting continued to start the third quarter as he missed a wide-open three-pointer as soon as he checked in for his first shift of the second half. The offence was poor, but he offered some decent rim protection tonight on multiple possessions and was eliminated quickly from the rotation in the second half.

Great lob pass to Brandon Ingram to get the Raptors on the board with their first offensive possession of the game. Followed it up with two nice mid-range jumpers over Jonas Valanciunas. He made Denver pay at the seven-minute mark in the first quarter when they left him wide open for three, giving him the Draymond Green treatment. That woke the Nuggets’ defence up as his next make wasn’t nearly as open a shot as his first three-pointer. Barnes was carrying the offence early as he scored or assisted in 18 of the 23 first-quarter points from Toronto. His shot-making slowed down a bit in the second half, and he even had some bad misses that a player of Barnes’ calibre should be making, but he was still great in the second half. He had a huge block in the paint on a Jamal Murray layup attempt with under three minutes to go in the game when he could’ve given Denver a two-possession lead, plus he drew a huge foul on a moving pick a few minutes later. Another amazing Scottie game, and that now makes it two triple-doubles in three games.

His struggles continued out of the gate yet again as he started the game with 3 bricks. He made his fourth shot count, though in the second quarter, as he made a three-pointer and became the fourth Raptor to get on the stat sheet scoring-wise around the nine-minute mark, and he followed it up with another corner three just a minute later. That got his confidence going as he was able to earn a trip to the free-throw line shortly after the corner three. He scored 10 straight points in a quarter where the offence was inconsistent, and ended the second period with 12 points. Started the second half with a corner three and a nice dish to BI3 for a corner three from the former all-star. Cashed in a huge three-pointer to give Toronto a 94-92 lead that was a 2014 Spurs-like possession that is becoming a trend with this team lately. His shot cooled off when Toronto needed it the most, as he missed two big threes in the fourth quarter that would’ve blown the roof off the Scotiabank Arena, but a good rebound after a poor outing against Orlando and a terrible opening quarter.

Started the game scoring the Raptors’ first two points of the night and a rare transition layup for BI3 a few minutes later. After a hot first quarter, it took him a while to get going in the second quarter, but he made a nice bucket down low late in the first half and followed it up with a corner three in the following possession. He made a great full-court pass to Scottie in transition, but unfortunately, Barnes missed at the rim and cost him one heck of an assist. He had a big 10-point third quarter, doing it all from the mid-range to attacking the rim and then all the way from the three-point line. He was 1 for 21 coming into the night from downtown, but his three-point shooting was the most consistent from Toronto in a poor shooting night for the team, and he almost had a miracle bank shot to tie the game at the buzzer.

Poor first quarter as he missed his first three shots and had two turnovers to go with it. He finally got going in the most RJ Barrett way possible, in transition, at the rim late in the first half. Great defence on Jamal Murray opened the door for a nice double team with Scottie Barnes, and they came away with a steal and a trip to the free throw line thanks to it. Just like Quickley, a poor first quarter followed by a much better second quarter. He came out with confidence after a solid end to the first half and converted on an and-one play early in the third quarter, followed by a wide open three ball shortly after for a quick six points. The miss to tie the game late in the game made it deja vu for the Raptors, as it’s been three games in a row against the Nuggets now that RJ has had a chance to tie or give the lead to Toronto late in this matchup that spans all the way back to last year.

Tried his luck with a corner three out of the gate, but wasn’t able to knock it down. His intensity picked up in the second quarter, winning an offensive rebound for the team with just a bit over six minutes to go in the quarter, and he was a pest on a loose ball that went Toronto’s way. He was able to get on the board around the five-minute mark when Agbaji was left wide open in an inbound right under Denver’s rim. Although he picked up a bit of momentum to end the first half, Ochai was benched for CMB to start the second half. He kept the energy on the offensive glass going as he won an extra possession for Toronto late in the third quarter, and that was it for the night, as he was also eliminated from the rotation rather early.

Honestly, not a bad first shift as he had energy trying to win offensive rebounds for the Raptors, but he wasn’t able to comeaway with one unfortunately and played decent defence despite the Tony Snell statline of all zeros across the board. That was it for his first half, and in the third quarter, his most significant play was a turnover due to a high pass when trying to hook up with Scottie Barnes. That was it for the night for the struggling Gradey Dick, but his energy in the first half saved an ugly-looking box score.

Missed a few shots early, but he made a nice stop in a full-court press on Jamal Murray to turn the Nuggets over in their own half. A big steal in the second quarter, midway through, led to a nice Quickley transition score in the paint. Shead was able to get on the board with a nice pull-up followed by a good pace change that led to an easy Ingram finish at the rim. He made a great move to get down low in the paint, and unfortunately, his floater popped out, but he followed it up with a huge assist for an Ingram three in the following possession. Those were his few highlights in one of his worst performances in recent times, as Shead has been a hero in the recent comebacks.

Good offensive rebound straight off the bench in his first shift. He was able to get on the scoring board mid-way through the third quarter with a transition layup that was called for a goaltend but went in off the block anyway. He came flying in from the baseline on a nice putback attempt off a Mamu miss and missed himself, but he won the Raptors an extra possession as he was fouled on his rebound attempt, but butter-fingered the ball out of bounds from a Jamal Shead bounce pass in the possession that he won for the team. His defensive energy was so much better in the fourth quarter, and he finished the game off, providing much-needed energy, but wasn’t consistent enough tonight.

Instant mid-range shot off the bench in the fourth quarter off an RJ Barrett missed free throw, Scottie Barnes offensive rebound, and kick out, as he checked in for the first time all game in a crucial moment. He was a part of a double team with Ja’Kobe Walter trap that led to a jump ball, and Toronto successfully came up with the stop off the jump ball. Perhaps the outcome could’ve been different if Battle had been called upon earlier in the night.

The third Raptor to get on the board, scoring-wise, as he scored his first bucket with under two minutes to go in the first quarter on his first shot and followed it up with a steal in the following defensive possession. He started the second quarter with Toronto’s first four points of the quarter on consecutive possessions. Boyles got the start in the second half in place of Ochai Agbaji and was given the task to guard JV, he assisted a Quickley corner three right out the gate, then came up with a quick steal on JV in the following defensive possession. He disrupted another play on defence around the nine-minute mark and provided a huge spark to pull the Raptors ahead in the third quarter. The defence was amazing all game long, but more specifically, he was disrupting plays the most in the third quarter, whether it was getting a hand on loose balls or forcing a jump ball on a Jamal Murray layup attempt midway in the quarter. He missed badly on a putback attempt that could’ve given Toronto a lead late in the game, plus two threes, but he has now had three straight great rebounding games and some of those rebounds he was flying for.

Great call to start with CMB in the second half over Ochai as he did a great job on JV, who was giving the Raptors a real hard time in the first half with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. He decided to give Jamison Battle a look in the fourth quarter for the first time all night, and Battle rewarded him with an instant two-pointer that was initially ruled a three, but unfortunately, his foot was marginally on the three-point line. He eliminated struggling members from the rotation, but didn’t give Mo Bamba a look tonight after a solid three-block performance in just four minutes of game time against the Orlando Magic.