DENVER — — Jamal Murray scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and the Denver Nuggets rallied from being down 21 points in the third quarter to beat the Toronto Raptors 125-119 on Monday night.
Murray added 12 assists to go along with Nikola Jokic’s 21st triple-double of the season. Jokic finished with 35 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists to help Denver improve to 9-1 since the All-Star break.
Jokic, who has 126 career triple-doubles, also had a season-high six steals, including four in the third quarter when the Nuggets outscored Toronto 42-30.
“He just does a really good job of anticipating and playing the angles,” Murray said. “It’s less about being on the spot, he plays the angle and the passing line. Bravo to Jok.
The Raptors played without Scottie Barnes (fractured left hand), Chris Boucher (knee), Gary Trent Jr. (groin strain) and Immanuel Quickley (hip flexor), in addition to Jakob Poeltl being sidelined. gap after undergoing surgery on his left little finger.
This has given younger, less-used players a chance to play meaningful minutes, including Jontay Porter, the younger brother of Michael Porter Jr.. This is the first time the siblings have appeared in the same NBA game.
“I was really happy for Jontay,” Porter Jr. said. “Not only his presence, but the way he played. It was a special time to be together.
Jontay Porter scored a career-high 14 points, Kelly Olynyk scored 24 and Bruce Brown, who helped the Nuggets win the NBA title last season, had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto.
The Raptors took a 22-point lead late in the second quarter and 68-51 at halftime. Denver rallied in the final minutes of the third to cut a 21-point deficit to 98-93.
“In an NBA game, you’re up 20 or down 20; the game is never over,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. “I know when they came out after halftime, they were going to be more aggressive, and how to handle those moments is a learning opportunity for us.”
The Nuggets trailed 107-104 with 7:59 left, but scored eight straight points to take the lead for good. RJ Barrett, who had 26 points and nine assists for Toronto, cut the score to 121-119, but Michael Porter Jr.’s corner 3-pointer with 1:02 left sealed it.
“We knew our energy was a lot better than it was in the first half and that would get us back in the game,” Murray said. “I don’t know when we took the lead, I kind of lost my mind. We did a good job of not playing the score, just playing hard.
The Raptors scored just 21 points in the fourth and missed all four of their 3-point attempts.
“You can’t exchange baskets when you’re down 20, so something has to improve,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “We finally got the defense back into the game.”
FOLLOWING
Raptors: At Detroit on Wednesday night.
Nuggets: At Miami on Wednesday night.
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