Did that really happen? Again?!? Another heartbreaking loss against a contending Denver Nuggets side just a week after their first meeting. Since the two games were so close to one another, let’s look for some similarities between the two games and some differences too.
Jakob Poeltl was spectacular in both games as in this one he went for a season-high 24 points and reeled in 10 rebounds for another double-double performance. Gradey Dick and Ochai Agbaji were good in both games too and RJ Barrett struggled to make shots tonight, but his playmaking was great. Davion Mitchell went over double-digit points in both contests and has been quietly improving night in, night out. A huge part of Davion Mitchell’s game has been defence, and he took another charge tonight which is becoming a common theme for him now. Another huge similarity tonight was that the bench wasn’t as productive. On the bright side, Ja’Kobe Walter made his first career three-pointer in the first half. Another similarity from this game compared to the last one was that the Raptors had a double-digit lead and were in the driver’s seat all night long but they coughed up the lead late. The Nuggets took their first lead of the game since they were up 20-19 with less than two minutes to go in the fourth.
Toronto did a much better job on Nikola Jokic as he was only able to hit 28 points this time. Christian Braun went for 17 points just like he did in game one. Micheal Porter Jr. was much better in this contest with 19 points, Russell Westbrook got to start due to Jamal Murray being out of this contest with an injury. He did the most with his minutes as he had 21 points and was attacking the paint all night long, which earned him a game-high 10 free throws. Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther were also able to pitch in double-digit performances off the bench. We saw a new rotation from Denver in this one as DeAndre Jordan, Zeke Nnaji and Hunter Tyson saw court time.
Denver was getting dominated on the glass in the first half, which shifted in their favour in the second half and was a big reason for their comeback. Another reason was the turnovers that came late in the game for Toronto. The last reason was the whistle. All game long the refs were letting both teams play physically and weren’t calling any soft fouls until midway through the fourth quarter. The Nuggets were able to get into the bonus with 4:16 to go in the game and shot way more free throws than the Raptors.
The final kicker for the Deja Vu was Toronto had the ball to finish the game, down two and RJ Barrett hoisted up a triple. This time he was much closer and the ball rattled out to give the Denver Nuggets their fourth win on the season.
Toronto’s next stop is a matchup with the Sacramento Kings on November the 6th and Toronto will look for another Deja Vu scenario, as this time it would play in their favour.
