Grades: Denver Nuggets 106 Toronto Raptors 105

The Nuggets rolled into Toronto on the second game of a back-to-back and snapped an 8-game skid with a 106-105 win. Defensively the Nuggets were solid, allowing Toronto just 46.7% eFG while getting just enough offense to squeeze out a win and halt the streak.

Denver Nuggets

106

Final
Recap | Box Score

105

Toronto Raptors

	Darrell Arthur, PF 27 MIN \| 8-14 FG \| 3-3 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 6 REB \| 2 AST \| 2 STL \| 2 BLK \| 0 TO \| 19 PTS \| -3 +/- Starting for the injured Kenneth Faried, Arthur continued his hot shooting and logged his best all around game in quite some time. The shot was there, as was the perimeter defense. DA could have rebounded better, but he was forced to log big minutes at center due to injuries.
	Danilo Gallinari, SF 35 MIN \| 7-13 FG \| 3-7 3FG \| 4-4 FT \| 5 REB \| 3 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 21 PTS \| 0 +/- A couple of very nice stretches but his scoring once again trailed off late. Denver held on for the win but Gallo has not really shown up at the end of games for quite some time.
	Joffrey Lauvergne, C 25 MIN \| 6-9 FG \| 0-1 3FG \| 2-2 FT \| 10 REB \| 1 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 0 TO \| 14 PTS \| 0 +/- The double-double was nice and Joffrey is showing to be a more reliable finisher than the rest of the Nuggets’ bigs. His return is a welcome sight.
	Emmanuel Mudiay, PG 32 MIN \| 2-9 FG \| 1-2 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 3 REB \| 9 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 5 PTS \| +12 +/- Solid but somehow benched in the fourth quarter for Randy Foye. The offensive struggles are enormous, but I thought he made good decisions when he was in. Mudiay needs to be a more willing driver, but I don’t agree with the benching at all.
	Randy Foye, SG 36 MIN \| 3-9 FG \| 1-4 3FG \| 5-5 FT \| 2 REB \| 4 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 4 TO \| 12 PTS \| -2 +/- Foye hasn’t scored double digits since November 9th, nearly a month ago. 12 games have passed since then. The scoring was a nice sight but more importantly Foye has looked like an NBA player the past two nights.
	Will Barton, SF 31 MIN \| 6-13 FG \| 3-6 3FG \| 7-7 FT \| 4 REB \| 4 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 2 TO \| 22 PTS \| -4 +/- It wasn’t a perfect night but the Nuggets’ most consistent contributor came through with another solid performance and he finally gets rewarded with a win. His consistency has been a bright spot throughout a challenging stretch for the Nuggets.
	Nikola Jokic, C 14 MIN \| 4-7 FG \| 0-0 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 6 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 8 PTS \| +3 +/- Jokic was alright, but his mobility is a bit of an issue and he’s very stationary on both ends of the floor. Jokic could stand to be more active down low but the Nuggets need to keep putting him out there and letting him learn. Against teams with any sort of athleticism it can be tough to use him right now.
	Jameer Nelson, PG 28 MIN \| 1-3 FG \| 0-1 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 5 REB \| 7 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 2 PTS \| -8 +/- It’s been a pretty miserable stretch for Jameer but he mixed in some nice passing with a smaller number of careless turnovers. His offense is still not there at all.
	Mike Miller, SG 12 MIN \| 1-4 FG \| 1-3 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 3 PTS \| +7 +/- Miller did his job, spacing the floor in a few spot minutes. A guy who is willing to shoot is a rare sighting with the Denver Nuggets, and a welcome one.
	Michael Malone The ball movement and energy over the past two games has been good enough to win. Malone himself has been a mixed bag, wildly switching up his rotation from one game to the next and heavily relying on veterans with poor results. The Nuggets eeked out a win behind outstanding games from Foye and DA, but you have to wonder how long that can last. As long as the Mudiay benching doesn’t become a real thing, it shouldn’t be an issue.

	Darrell Arthur, PF 27 MIN \| 8-14 FG \| 3-3 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 6 REB \| 2 AST \| 2 STL \| 2 BLK \| 0 TO \| 19 PTS \| -3 +/- Starting for the injured Kenneth Faried, Arthur continued his hot shooting and logged his best all around game in quite some time. The shot was there, as was the perimeter defense. DA could have rebounded better, but he was forced to log big minutes at center due to injuries.
	Danilo Gallinari, SF 35 MIN \| 7-13 FG \| 3-7 3FG \| 4-4 FT \| 5 REB \| 3 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 21 PTS \| 0 +/- A couple of very nice stretches but his scoring once again trailed off late. Denver held on for the win but Gallo has not really shown up at the end of games for quite some time.
	Joffrey Lauvergne, C 25 MIN \| 6-9 FG \| 0-1 3FG \| 2-2 FT \| 10 REB \| 1 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 0 TO \| 14 PTS \| 0 +/- The double-double was nice and Joffrey is showing to be a more reliable finisher than the rest of the Nuggets’ bigs. His return is a welcome sight.
	Emmanuel Mudiay, PG 32 MIN \| 2-9 FG \| 1-2 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 3 REB \| 9 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 5 PTS \| +12 +/- Solid but somehow benched in the fourth quarter for Randy Foye. The offensive struggles are enormous, but I thought he made good decisions when he was in. Mudiay needs to be a more willing driver, but I don’t agree with the benching at all.
	Randy Foye, SG 36 MIN \| 3-9 FG \| 1-4 3FG \| 5-5 FT \| 2 REB \| 4 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 4 TO \| 12 PTS \| -2 +/- Foye hasn’t scored double digits since November 9th, nearly a month ago. 12 games have passed since then. The scoring was a nice sight but more importantly Foye has looked like an NBA player the past two nights.
	Will Barton, SF 31 MIN \| 6-13 FG \| 3-6 3FG \| 7-7 FT \| 4 REB \| 4 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 2 TO \| 22 PTS \| -4 +/- It wasn’t a perfect night but the Nuggets’ most consistent contributor came through with another solid performance and he finally gets rewarded with a win. His consistency has been a bright spot throughout a challenging stretch for the Nuggets.
	Nikola Jokic, C 14 MIN \| 4-7 FG \| 0-0 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 6 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 8 PTS \| +3 +/- Jokic was alright, but his mobility is a bit of an issue and he’s very stationary on both ends of the floor. Jokic could stand to be more active down low but the Nuggets need to keep putting him out there and letting him learn. Against teams with any sort of athleticism it can be tough to use him right now.
	Jameer Nelson, PG 28 MIN \| 1-3 FG \| 0-1 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 5 REB \| 7 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 2 PTS \| -8 +/- It’s been a pretty miserable stretch for Jameer but he mixed in some nice passing with a smaller number of careless turnovers. His offense is still not there at all.
	Mike Miller, SG 12 MIN \| 1-4 FG \| 1-3 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 3 PTS \| +7 +/- Miller did his job, spacing the floor in a few spot minutes. A guy who is willing to shoot is a rare sighting with the Denver Nuggets, and a welcome one.
	Michael Malone The ball movement and energy over the past two games has been good enough to win. Malone himself has been a mixed bag, wildly switching up his rotation from one game to the next and heavily relying on veterans with poor results. The Nuggets eeked out a win behind outstanding games from Foye and DA, but you have to wonder how long that can last. As long as the Mudiay benching doesn’t become a real thing, it shouldn’t be an issue.

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