The Nuggets bounced back from a loss in the first preseason game with an up-and-down win against a competitive Toronto Raptors team. The tale of the tape was one all too familiar to Nuggets fans, as the starters dominated only to watch their cushion deflate from stagnate, brick-addled bench offense. But DaRon Holmes II and Kessler Edwards made enough big plays in their four closeout minutes to secure the Nuggets’ first win, 112-108.

The Nuggets swapped Peyton Watson for a questionable Aaron Gordon to start the game, which didn’t change much as Jamal Murray and Christian Braun came out in midseason form. After Cam Johnson had an up-and-down start where he hit a three but picked up two fouls, Christian went to work. First was a steal and transition layup followed by a nice 28-foot three, giving the Nuggets a 16-13 lead. By the middle of the first, the Nuggets had sprinted to a 27-14 lead, capped off by Braun (5/5 FGs) and Murray (4/6 FGs) trading threes.  

Sandro Mamukelashvili, the Raptors talented backup big, hit two threes off the bench to get the Raptors back in the game, 29-22, prompting a timeout. Jonas Valančiūnas and Julian Strawther defended the lead with a pair of floaters, leaving the good guys with a tenuous 8-point lead at the end of the first. 

The Raptors built on their momentum to start the second. The Nuggets 6th turnover led to the 10th point Toronto and a 17-9 run that dwindled the Nuggets lead to 34-31. Back-to-back buckets by Jonas and Tim Hardaway Jr. shot the lead back to 8. Adding insult to injury, Val gave Scottie Barnes a shot, pausing play.

After a JV turnover led to transition three by Barrett followed by a dunk off a Barnes steal, a frustrated Coach Adelman was hit with a quick tech as the lead shrunk to 42-40. Jokic calmed things down with a bunny in the post followed by a smooth pass to a cutting Braun, restoring a two-score lead. Jok continued to keep the Nuggets’ edge from the line, hitting four FTs on back-to-back possessions.

After two Barrett free throws, Cam secured a loose rebound on a Murray miss and drained a three of his own, making the score 56-51. Mal bounced back on the next possession, hitting a step back three. The final minute of the half got sloppy as the teams traded loose passing and dumb turnovers, culminating in a Jokic steal and leak-out layup for Cam. 

At the half, the Nuggets led 64-56 with the core doing the heavy lifting: Murray with 15, and Jokic and Braun each with 14.

Denver began the second with their starting five, who proceeded to give up the 18th and 19th points off of 17 turnovers. CB got the steal back with a rip, full-body lunge, and immediate timeout to secure the loose ball. After a tough Murray jumper in the lane and a Braun corner three, the Nuggets had increased the lead back to 12, at which point Adelman pulled Jokic and Murray who finished their nights with 17/6/5 and 17/4/2 respectively.

The Nuggets’ bench muscled the lead to 16 before the Raptors began to claw their way back. Barrett and Quickley hit a pair of 3s followed by 6 straight from Brandon Ingram, who’s fourth free throw in a row sliced the Nuggets’ lead to 83-76. Mamukelashvili continued his run of terror with a steal, defensive rebound, and third three, cutting the Nuggets lead to 83-81. The 11-0 bleed out was finally triaged by trips to the line for Strawther, Brown, and THJ. Bruce added a steal and putback to give the Nuggets a 94-88 lead to end the third.

The 4th began by Mamu continuing to dominate with a running dunk, tying the game at 94. Both teams’ offenses then ground to a halt as the end-of-the-bench guys got some valuable reps. The Raptors briefly reclaimed the lead for the first time since the opening quarter before back-to-back layups by Jones and Tyson. 

Holmes hit a three to tie the game at 106-106 with three minutes to go followed by two athletic blocks and a free throw by Kessler Edwards. Holmes then hit the dagger, a three from the top of the arc that secured a 112-108 win.

The bench will have six days to find some rhythm before playing the Clippers on Sunday at 7:30pm. Maybe that will mean more than four minutes for Holmes, who looks like a promising contributor after his first two stints.

A Few Notes

  • Cam Johnson was a team-high +23
  • JV, Brown, Strawther, THJ, and Spencer Jones averaged -12.8 in roughly equal minutes
  • Denver had 31 turnovers that led to 32 points for Toronto