Jamal Murray’s 31-point output lifts Nuggets in comeback vs. Raptors
Jamal Murray scored 12 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, Nikola Jokic finished with 22 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and the host Denver Nuggets rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 121-115 on Friday night.
Tim Hardaway Jr. went 7-for-10 from 3-point range and finished with 23 points while Aaron Gordon scored 16 points for Denver (43-28).
Bruce Brown finished with 12 points and Christian Braun had 11 for the Nuggets, who moved into fifth in the Western Conference with their sixth straight win over Toronto. Denver has won four of its past six games overall.
Jakob Poeltl amassed 23 points and 11 rebounds, Brandon Ingram scored 19 points, RJ Barrett contributed 18 points, Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley finished with 15 points each and Ja'Kobe Walter added 14 points for the Raptors (39-30).
Toronto, which had a three-game winning streak end, remained in fifth place in the Western Conference.
Denver trailed by nine after three quarters but opened the fourth on a 13-2 run to lead 98-96 before Quickley responded with five straight points. Hardaway hit a pair of 3-pointers and Gordon sank another from deep to cap a 9-0 run that gave the Nuggets a 107-101 lead with five minutes left.
Ingram hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to cut Toronto's deficit to one.
Gordon was fouled while sinking a layup with 1:45 left but missed the free throw, but Jokic got the rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws to increase Denver's edge to 115-110.
Barnes scored off his own miss, Murray missed a jumper and Poeltl converted a three-point play to tie it with 59.6 seconds left.
Jokic hit a 10-footer, Gordon blocked Barnes' shot, and Murray sank two free throws to make it a four-point game with 12.3 seconds left. Jokic fouled Poeltl, who missed both foul shots before Gordon sank one from the line at the other end to seal it.
Toronto trailed 57-53 at halftime, then made all 15 of its 2-point shots in the third quarter while outscoring Denver 41-28 in the period. The Raptors led by as much as 11 late in the third. The Nuggets closed within five before Toronto finished the period strong to lead 94-85.