The Denver Nuggets came shorthanded into the game against the Toronto Raptors tonight and got even thinner almost immediately after it started. Aaron Gordon left in the first quarter and did not return while Jamal Murray never suited up to begin with. That left Denver relying on many of their younger players and they found themselves in a dogfight with the Raptors. The Nuggets fell behind for the most of the game before coming back late in the fourth behind a monster Nikola Jokic triple double and survived a buzzer beater attempt that nearly fell for Toronto. Nuggets win 121-119.

The Nuggets started out with pace and hitting their shots. Gordon and Russell Westbrook both knocked down threes and Denver got an early lead. Toronto took a timeout and that cooled off the home team. After several turnovers the Raptors were back within one and the Nuggets were down Gordon who left the game with what was described as a calf strain. Things stayed tight midway through the quarter with Denver still playing sloppy. The turnovers were an issue throughout the quarter. The Raptors weren’t knocking down a ton of shots in half court sets but the turnovers gave them too many easy buckets. Toronto’s lead continued to grow with the quarter winding down. After a timeout the Nuggets regained their focus to stop the lead from growing further. The re-energized defensive effort got Denver a run to close things out that was highlighted by a massive Hunter Tyson block. At the end of one the Nuggets trailed 37-34.

With Gordon out, Zeke Nnaji got some minutes playing with the bench group. They had plenty of energy to match the young Raptors but not the buckets. It wasn’t a particularly great shift from DeAndre Jordan but he made up for it with a great block to dunk sequence. After a Christian Braun layup the Raptors called timeout leading by just two. Denver got Jokic and Porter back in after that but Gradey Dick was knocking down shots from outside. He continued to be a menace, scoring, blocking shots, flying after offensive rebounds. Denver kept things close with the quarter winding down but couldn’t quite overcome the Raptors. Turnovers simply killed the Nuggets all throughout the first half. Heading into the locker room they trailed 64-59.

The second half opened up with a familiar sight, Dick knocking down a three. The Raptors pushed their lead up to double digits quickly while Dick remained hot and the Nuggets were unable to hit a three. Once the lead got to fourteen Michael Malone took a timeout. Jokic asserted himself more on offense to stop the bleeding and Denver picked up their urgency. Braun started running the floor while Jokic punished Jakob Poetl down low. The Nuggets kept chipping away at the lead but little mistakes were keeping them from getting close. They were struggling on the defensive glass in particular. Luckily the Raptors went cold from the floor and so Denver kept slowly closing the gap. Jokic plus the bench closed out the quarter and had some up and down moments. Still, Denver trailed by just 5 after three quarters.

The Nuggets opened the fourth with Jokic on the bench and Denver predictably struggled to score but Toronto wasn’t getting much either. The bench was able to hold serve and when Jokic came back in at the eight and a half minute mark the Raptor lead was still five. Offensive rebounds continued to kill Denver however, along with Poetl. The Nuggets kept creeping within a couple possessions and then they’d have a minute or two of mental lapses to watch the lead go back near double digits. Just past the halfway mark of the quarter they were on another run with Watson converting an and-1 to get in within six points. Denver finally started to string together some stops while they were scoring. Julian Strawther pulled them within two after drawing a shooting foul on Poetl that was also his sixth. Denver had a chance to steal yet another game from Toronto in front of them but they were also running out of time. After a Jokic steal and a Watson transition three the Nuggets got their first lead since the first quarter. The game went into the final minute tilting back and forth. Denver held a one point lead in the final moments and Strawther went to the free throw line but only converted one of two to give Toronto a final shot. R.J. Barrett took an incredibly tough three that was halfway down but bounced out and the Nuggets escape with a 121-119 victory.

A lot of youth on the floor

Nov 4, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Hunter Tyson (5) blocks the shot of Toronto Raptors forward Jonathan Mogbo (2) in the first quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Braun has been one of the best players for Denver this season and Watson is a regular in the rotation but we got to see some of Denver’s young depth plan working tonight. Braun continued to play well, Watson had his best game of the season, Julian Strawther is proving to be a bench scoring option and the Nuggets other young less heralded reserves got some big minutes as well. Tyson continues to look solid as a bench big wing option. His energy on the boards is sorely needed and he had some solid defensive highlights as well. Nnaji did ok all things considered as well. Yes, he blew an easy dunk but he was solid. The combo of youth also showed great defensive potential in the fourth. With Braun, Strawther and Watson playing next to Porter and Jokic the Nuggets could switch everything on the perimeter and create turnovers.

So much self inflicted pain

The Nuggets certainly did not put forth their cleanest game tonight. The first half was marred by turnover after turnover and the second half was brutal to watch on the defensive glass. Yet despite that and the depleted roster Denver found a way to win. In some ways you want to give them a pass given their patchwork rotation but on the other hand so much of the game was just pure sloppiness and failure to do the fundamentals. Once they picked up their energy in the fourth quarter they started getting stops that’s what turned the tides. The Nuggets can overcome these mistakes against a lottery bound team like the Raptors but they’ll have to be better, including the young guys who are going to continued to get called on as part of the depth.

Hopefully its nothing serious for AG

Losing Gordon tonight ends up not hurting Denver but I can’t imagine they can weather the storm for too long without their top power forward. Gordon plays such an important role for Denver in the dunker spot on their offense and also has been shooting great to start the year which adds a whole new element to the Nuggets offense. Calf strain could many a myriad of things so I won’t speculate. As long as Gordon is not on the floor though Denver’s going to have to lean on that young depth probably more than they want.