The Denver Nuggets defeated the Toronto Raptors 125-119 in a comeback affair on Monday night.

The Nuggets trailed the Raptors by as many as 22 points but worked the deficit down to just five points entering the fourth quarter. Nikola Jokic was instrumental in Denver’s third quarter run, dominating in the paint on both ends of the floor to cut the lead down to size. Jokic had an insane stat line when it was all said and done of 35 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, six steals, and two blocks. It was a work of art.

From there, the Nuggets outworked and out-executed the Raptors in the fourth quarter behind a takeover performance from Jamal Murray. The Nuggets star point guard had 12 points and six assists in the fourth quarter alone, getting into the paint and mid-range area consistently and making dynamic plays with the ball in his hands. Murray clearly knew exactly what time it was and gave the Nuggets exactly what they needed when the moment called for him to be great. He finished with 26 points, 12 assists, five rebounds, two blocks, and just one turnover.

“I haven’t seen anyone who can flip a switch like Jamal sometimes when he gets into that mode,” Michael Porter Jr. shared postgame. “He did that, and then Joker started hitting shots, it was just a good team comeback.”

The Nuggets got the game to clutch time, and they simply got every shot they wanted down the stretch. From Murray jumpers off the dribble to Jokic seals in the middle of the paint to open threes for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr., it was exactly how the Nuggets would draw up their late game sequences, even if the way they got to that point wasn’t ideal.

It was a great response to a situation the Nuggets got themselves into.

“Well let’s be honest, that first half we were awful,” Michael Malone shared to lead off his press conference postgame. “I asked our players at halftime – there was no rah rah speech. I didn’t break any clipboards – The only thing that changed was we finally started playing hard.”

“There was a noticeable difference first half and second half with our energy and our effort and how much we cared.”

The reason Denver won this game though was because they finally got defense back into the game. The Raptors scored 30+ points in each of the first three quarters, but they only scored 21 points in the fourth and couldn’t keep up with Denver’s clutch pace.

“I think we did a good job of not playing the score and just playing hard,” shared Jamal Murray.

 Central to that defensive improvement was Jokic, who was getting cooked in the first half but turned up the intensity when it mattered.

“People criticize Nikola because he doesn’t average three blocks a game, but if you really are a basketball purist and you watch the game, you see he’s got some of the best hands in the NBA bar none,” Malone shared postgame. “He’s never going to out-athleticize anyone, but he is going to outsmart you.”

On a night when the Nuggets just needed effort to find stops tonight, Jokic helped in a big way. He wasn’t great early on, but he improved as the game went on and saved some ofhis best defensive plays for the fourth quarter.

Overall, a good night for the Nuggets, and a good win despite the ankle weights they placed upon themselves heading into halftime.

The one cool wrinkle about tonight was getting so see Jontay Porter (Michael’s younger brother) shine in extended minutes. Jontay Porter had 14 points and five assists off the bench, making four three-pointers in 22 minutes and playing solid defense against Jokic throughout.

“I was really, really happy for Jontay,” Michael said of his younger brother. “Not only him being out there but also the way he played. I shoulda told the coaches beforehand. They said it was on me that he hit all those threes.”

Jontay has bounced around the league and dealt with injuries and hadn’t suited up with an NBA team since the 2020-21 season. He has had an opportunity in Toronto and made the most of it tonight. We will see if this can be a springboard moment for the younger Porter to stick in the NBA.

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