After trailing for the vast majority of the game, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets got through by the skin of their teeth, securing their first win of the season.
Jokic was the standout, dropping his second 40-point bomb of the season in the 127-125 win. He added 10 rebounds in a double-double performance, along with 4 assists.
The Raptors looked to have the upset in the bag with a few minutes left until things started to fall apart. Scottie Barnes was forced to leave the game late after getting a nasty elbow to the eye from Jokic. From there, both Ochai Agbaji and Davion Mitchell missed a free throw each, which led to Jamal Murray coming up clutch – with a double clutch – to tie the game with 0.3 seconds left in regulation on the reverse layup.
With Barnes ruled out, and Immanuel Quickley also not available tonight, the Raptors were relying on some of the younger guys to come up big in overtime, which was always going to be a struggle against the experience of this Nuggets team.
Toronto had six guys score at least 15 points, including all five starters, but they couldn’t get their half-court offense going in the extra period.
Barnes finished with 21 points, 12 boards, 9 assists, and 5 blocks, and Jakob Poeltl had 26 points with 17 rebounds. Jokic’s monster performance was backed up by Christian Braun and Jamal Murray, scoring 17 each.
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