The Denver Nuggets beat the Toronto Raptors 128-109 on Wednesday, November 4 at Ball Arena in Denver, turning a three point halftime deficit into a rout with a 41-15 third quarter. Nikola Jokic finished with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and he had the triple-double secured before the fourth quarter even began.
Toronto led 67-64 at halftime and shot 59.1 percent in the first half. Denver outscored the Raptors 64-42 after the break, and Toronto went 5 of 23 from the field with seven turnovers in the third quarter alone.
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Jokic settles the game in one quarter
Jokic secured his third triple-double of the season and the 201st of his career by the end of the third quarter, then sat out the final 12 minutes with the game decided. Denver opened the third on a 20-6 run to take an 11 point lead, and after Toronto threatened to cut the margin to eight, the Nuggets closed the door in a hurry. Canadian guard Jamal Murray scored four straight points in that stretch, Jokic hit two short jumpers in the lane, drew a foul on a three point attempt and made all three free throws, and rookie Bryce Hopkins took over from there.
Hopkins scored a career high 18 points on 6 of 7 shooting, including six straight points that pushed the lead to 103-81. Aaron Gordon added 17 points, Murray finished with 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists, Cameron Johnson had 12, Christian Braun added 11 and Marvin Bagley III chipped in 10. Denver played without DeMar DeRozan, who sat with back spasms, and still put six players in double figures.
The balance matters because it shows what Toronto was actually defending. The Raptors could load up on Jokic in the first half and still score with him. Once Denver raised its defensive pressure, every Toronto mistake became a Denver runout, and every runout gave Jokic an easier read on the next possession.
Barrett leads a strong first half that faded
RJ Barrett led Toronto with 22 points and five rebounds. Scottie Barnes scored 17, and Immanuel Quickley and Collin Murray-Boyles finished with 13 points apiece. Jakob Poeltl scored eight points in his return after missing two games with left shoulder bursitis, a welcome sight for a frontcourt that has had to improvise in recent nights.
The first half was genuinely good basketball from Toronto. The Raptors rallied from a six point deficit in the second quarter, answered a Denver push that tied the game at 47, and used a 12-2 run capped by a Murray-Boyles tip-in to lead 59-49. Gordon’s dunk late in the half cut the lead to three, but Toronto went to the locker room believing the game plan had worked. The ball had moved, the shots had fallen, and Jokic had been made to work for his touches.
That belief lasted about three minutes of the third quarter. Denver’s pressure forced Toronto into rushed possessions, the turnovers piled up, and a three point lead became a double digit hole before the Raptors could settle. A 41-15 quarter is not a cold spell. It is a game being taken away, possession by possession, until the margin no longer leaves room for a comeback.
“I think when we’re playing good, it’s really good, and when we’re playing bad, it’s really bad. We cannot find consistency.”
Jokic said that about his own team after Denver’s loss to Portland earlier in the week, in comments reported by Eurohoops. On Wednesday the good version arrived all at once in the third quarter, and Toronto paid for the swing.
What the loss means for the road trip
The loss dropped Toronto to 4-4 on the season, while Denver improved to 4-3. It was the third game of a four game road trip for the Raptors, and the pattern across the trip has been clear. Toronto can score with anyone for a half. Sustaining that level against an elite halfcourt offence for four quarters, especially when its own shots stop falling, remains the test this group has not yet passed.
There are still positives to carry forward. Barrett continues to produce as a primary option, Murray-Boyles gave Toronto real energy off the bench, and Poeltl’s return restores size that Toronto needs against centres who pass as well as Jokic does. No scheme fully solves Jokic, who recorded his 201st career triple-double in three quarters of work, but having a full frontcourt at least lets Toronto defend him without reshaping the whole rotation.
Toronto wraps up the road trip in Milwaukee on Friday, November 6. A split of the trip remains available, and the Raptors will need a far cleaner third quarter than the one they played in Denver to take it. The lesson from Wednesday is simple and useful. Against a team led by a three time MVP calibre playmaker, one loose quarter is enough to turn a winnable game into a 19 point loss.
