(Field Level Media) Nikola Jokic had a triple-double with 23 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds and made three free throws in the final seconds as the visiting Denver Nuggets ended the Toronto Raptors’ eight-game winning streak with a 106-103 win Monday night.
Jokic made a free throw with seven seconds remaining to end a tie and made two more with 5.6 seconds left for the final margin, extending Denver’s winning streak to six games.
Jamal Murray added 21 points for the Nuggets, and Juancho Hernangomez and Malik Beasley had 15 each.
Kawhi Leonard led Toronto with 27 points and also had eight rebounds. Serge Ibaka added 15 points, Pascal Siakam had 14 and Kyle Lowry had five points and 11 assists.
The Nuggets led by as many as 12 points, but the Raptors had reduced the deficit to one point on a 3-pointer by CJ Miles with 7:59 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Leonard’s pullup and two free throws cut the lead to two, and Ibaka’s dunk capped a 6-0 run to tie the game at 94 with 4:40 remaining.
Beasley’s 3-pointer from the corner gave Denver a 3-point lead. Ibaka made two free throws, trimming the lead to one. Leonard’s 17-foot pullup jumper put Toronto ahead by one with 55 seconds left.
Jokic responded with a 12-foot floating jumper with 40 seconds left and Denver led 102-101.
After Toronto missed two shots, Hernangomez made one of two free throws with 12 seconds to play to boost the lead to two. Leonard tied the game on a fadeaway jumper with seven seconds left.
Denver led 27-24 after the first quarter after going ahead with an 8-0 run.
Beasley knocked down two 3-pointers during a 12-2 surge capped by Torrey Craig’s driving layup that gave the Nuggets a 50-41 lead with 2:31 to play in the first half.
The Nuggets took 59-47 advantage into halftime, paced by 14 points, 10 assists and five rebounds from Jokic. Leonard led Toronto with 16 points.
The Raptors shot 3 for 22 from 3-point range before the break compared to 6 for 16 by the Nuggets, who also had a 17-2 advantage in second-chance points in the first half.
Leonard’s 3-pointer trimmed Denver’s lead to five points with 5:20 to play in the third quarter. Mason Plumlee got the lead back to eight when he completed an alley-oop layup with 3:15 to play in the third.
Beasley’s running dunk after a Toronto miss nudged the lead back to 10 for the Nuggets, who led 86-78 after the third quarter.
