The Nuggets beat the Mavericks in their last game, and they came to Toronto to challenge the Raptors with a big victoryJokic also still has the strength of MVP, averaging 26 per game this season3 points 123 rebounds 94 assists, helping the Nuggets to third place in the West. The Raptors also beat the Hornets in their last game and are in good shape, but so far this season they have only 11 wins and 15 losses and are in 11th place, which is not a small gap compared to the Nuggets.
Barnes hooked his hand to score, Siakam scored 2+1, Murray shot three points with a bow and arrow outside the three-point line, Schroder hit a drift shot, Siakam hit a backward shot, the Raptors led 9-3, Jokic picked up a basket, Gordon scored under the basket, Jokic scored on a hook, and the Nuggets tied the score. Barnes flew to the basket, Gordon scored on the second offense, Siakam scored on the basket, Pope scored from mid-range, Murray put in the basket, Pope scored a three-pointer, and the Nuggets led 18-13. Siakam broke through for a layup, Trent made a layup, Reggie hit a layup, Jokic scored a layup, Reggie hit a layup, Arnonubi hit a three-pointer, Watson responded with a three-pointer, Strauss scored a layup, and the Nuggets ended the first quarter with a 29-20 lead.
Barnes scored with a hook shot, Watson broke through for a layup, Barnes made a jumper, Braun also scored a three-pointer in an open position, and Strauss countered to give the Nuggets a 36-24 lead. Barnes made both free throws, Boucher hit a three-point shot, Watson dunked, Barnes dunked hard, and Jokic hit a three-pointer to give the Nuggets a 41-31 lead. Arnonubi hit a layup, the Nuggets made it 8-0, Siakam stopped the bleeding with three points, Gordon scored four points in a row, Barnes hit a half-volley, Arnonuby dunked with one hand, and the Nuggets played another wave of 8-2 to widen the difference, and Barnes dunked before the end of the second quarter, and the Raptors fell behind 44-67. Barnes scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the first quarter.
Gordon dunked hard, Barnes scored on the counter, then made one of two free throws, Murray hit a three-pointer, Poeltl scored on a basket, Siakam dunked, and then scored on a counterattack to put the Raptors up 53-66. Jokic scored four straight points, Barnes hit a three-pointer, Murray broke through for a layup, Porter scored a three-pointer, Siakam made a layup, and Jokic hit a three-pointer to give the Nuggets a 78-60 lead. Trent hit a mid-range shot, Jokic hit a layup, Murray scored on a pull-up call, Achiuwa scored two points, Jokic scored 2+1, and the Nuggets led to 21 points. Flynn and Trent each hit a three-pointer, Reggie made one of two free throws, Achiuwa made a dunk, Reggie scored two points, Watson scored a layup, and Flynn scored a three-pointer to give the Nuggets a 90-75 lead. Jokic finished with 12 points and seven rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting in the first quarter.
In the final quarter, Achiuwa scored a rebound, Watson scored a layup, Trent hit a pull-up shot, Strauss scored three points, Achiuwa scored four points in a row, Trent hit all three free throws, and the Raptors narrowed the gap to nine points. Jokic made one of two free throws, Boucher dunked, and Achiuwa hit a three-pointer to put the Raptors up 91-96. Pope hit a three-pointer from the bottom corner, Schroder made a three-pointer, Jokic hit a hook shot, Murray pulled in, Arnonubi scored in the box, Porter scored a three-pointer, and the Nuggets led by 10 points at 106-96. Jokic hooked his hand to score, Barnes made a basket, and then put a basket to score, Jokic hit a three-point shot, Schroder scored a layup, Jokic hit a buzzer-tossed shot, Siakam hit both free throws, and finally the Nuggets defeated the Raptors 113-104 to win two straight games.
Jokic finished the game with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists on 13-of-23 shooting, with a game-high plus/minus of +15, Murray scored 20 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists on 9-of-22 shooting, Porter and Gordon each scored 12 points, Watson contributed 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting, and Pope scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. For the Raptors, Barnes had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 13-of-21 shooting, Siakam had 18 points and five rebounds on 7-of-16 shooting, Achiuwa had 13 points and five rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting, and Trent had 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Jokic is still a strong contender for MVP this season, and it's no surprise that he has a big double-double like 31+15。It is worth mentioning that Nuggets point guard Murray is Canadian, and he also returned to his hometown in this game, and the Raptors also released him a celebration of winning the championship last season**, and finally Murray scored 20 points to help the team win.