Denver Beats Toronto in Matchup of NBA Conference Leaders

The Toronto Raptors haven’ t missed a beat this season despite some changes in personnel from last year, when they were 59-23 and the top seed in the NBA Eastern Conference. Of course, last year they were swept in the second round of the playoffs, leading to the trade of DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poltl to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. It’s worked out well in the first two months of the 2018-19 season, with Toronto at the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference at 23-8 going into a December 16th game at Denver.

What has been surprising is the success so far of the Denver Nuggets. Last year, the Nuggets finished with a record of 46-36, which isn’t too bad, but it was ninth in the Western Conference, which means Denver missed the playoffs for the fifth year in a row. This year, the Nuggets are giving everyone in the West a run for their money, with a record of 19-9 going into that game against Toronto, which was the best in the West by 13 percentage points over the Golden State Warriors.

Neither the Raptors nor the Nuggets were at full strength going into the game, with Toronto missing four players, including Kyle Lowry, and Denver missing three including Will Barton and Paul Millsap. All the absences were due to injuries, but you play the game with who you have, not with who is out.

The score was even at 23 after the first quarter, with Toronto taking a 47-39 half time lead. Denver came back in the second half, holding the Raptors to just 14 points in the fourth quarter on the way to a 95-86 win. Nikola Jokic led the way for Denver, scoring 26 points and hauling in nine rebounds. He was one of five Nuggets in double figures for scoring. Leonard led the Raptors with 29 points and 14 rebounds.