Raptors bench sparks fourth quarter comeback to grab win over Nuggets

Rudi Schuller

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Raptors bench sparks fourth quarter comeback to grab win over Nuggets image

The Toronto Raptors avoided a second-straight loss with a come-from-behind 114-110 victory over the visiting Denver Nuggets at Air Canada Centre.

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Coming on the heels of three defeats in the previous five games, the Raptors needed a late surge to topple a stubborn Nuggets team that featured Canadian national teamers Jamal Murray and Trey Lyles.

With the win, Eastern Conference-leading Toronto (55-20) moves to 3.5 games up on second-place Boston.

Here are three takeaways from Wednesday's contest:

All-Star assists

Even with the 114 points, no one on the Raptors broke the 20-point mark. 

On a normal night that might be troublesome, but the way the team shared the ball allowed seven players to reach double figures. The Raptors finished with 33 team assists (compared to 26 for the Nuggets), led by a combined 16 helpers between Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.

The All-Star backcourt duo is usually good for their offensive antics, but with DeRozan's 15 points leading the team (alongside Fred VanVleet, who also scored 15) it meant that the scoring had to be spread throughout the squad.

What better way to do that than to share the ball?


 

Lowry and DeRozan each had eight assists, tied with Denver's Nikola Jokic for the game high.

D-Fence

It may seem strange to point to the Raptors' defensive effort as a reason for Wednesday's victory, especially as the Nuggets were allowed to shoot over 47 percent from the field and rack up 110 points.

But it was Toronto's second-half pressure that created the comeback, with Denver forced into turnovers and bad shots at key moments as the Raptors took control of the game for good.


 

The Raptors finished with 16 blocks and six steals, forcing 11 Denver turnovers. Interestingly, big men Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas were joined by point guard Lowry as co-leaders in blocks, with each player recording four rejections.

We The Fourth

Another game, another late rally by the Raptors.

In recent weeks Toronto has seemingly dared opposing teams to take a lead and try to hold on to it, with varying degrees of success. Wednesday presented a similar scenario, with the Nuggets controlling large stretches of the contest and even building up an eight-point fourth quarter lead.

Just when it looked like it would be another disappointing night for the Raptors, Jakob Poetl and Pascal Siakam each decided to have their best run of basketball in the closing minutes of the game.


 

Siakam and Poeltl each finished with 12 points after entering the fourth quarter with single digits, helping propel the Raptors past Denver for a much-needed victory.

 

Rudi Schuller