Canada's Murray scores 24 points as Nuggets rally past Raptors
Jamal Murray scored 24 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 20 and the Denver Nuggets scored the last six points of the game to pull out a 118-113 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.
Aaron Gordon added 19 points for the Nuggets, who won their ninth in a row at home. They improved to 24-1 in their last 25 games at Ball Arena. Nikola Jokic finished an assist shy of another triple-double. He had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Fred VanVleet had 21 points for the Raptors. Pascal Siakam added 19.
VanVleet hit a pair of free throws as Toronto regained a one-point lead, but Denver scored the final six points, all on free throws, to secure the win. Murray converted a free throw in that final stretch after Scottie Barnes was called for a technical and ejected by referee Scott Foster.
The Raptors led by as many as 10 points in the first half but Denver closed the second quarter with a 7-0 run to pull to 61-58 at the break. The burst included a 3-pointer by Porter and a dunk by Gordon off Jokic's alley-oop pass in the final minute of the period.
Murray scored 12 points in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer midway through the period that put the Nuggets up 72-69 for their first lead of the game. But the Raptors fought back to take an 88-83 lead into the fourth quarter and led 101-93 when Siakam converted a hook shot with 7:08 left to play.
WATCH | Canada's Murray helps Nuggets beat Raptors:
All five Raptors starters scored in double figures, the fifth time that has happened this season.
Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji remains sidelined indefinitely by a right shoulder injury. The Nuggets are a league-best 30-4 at home this season.
Raptors continue their five-game road trip Wednesday in Los Angeles against the Clippers.
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