After the gut wrenching triple OT loss to Boston on Sunday, tonight the Nuggets suffered another depressing loss, dropping their record to 33-20 on the year. Rudy Gay scored his only bucket of the 2nd half with a baseline jumper with 4.8 seconds to go to give Toronto the 1 point win. The loss keeps the Nuggets in the 5th seed in the West, and the news regarding the roster isn’t too swell either. The injury bug is starting to hit the Nuggets, and at the worst possible time.
What makes this loss sting even more is the fact that the Nuggets were shorthanded with Andre Iguodala, Danilo Gallinari, and Wilson Chandler all did not play for various reasons and are all listed as day to day.
The first half of the game was a tight affair but again just as in Boston, the Nuggets were chasing the game from the tip and at one point the Raptors had an 11 point lead. No surprise, that Ty Lawson carried the Nuggets in the first half with 17 points and the Raptors were only up 54-52 at intermission.
To add what was already a small bench for the Nuggets, Javale McGee did not play at all in the 2nd half because he had soreness in his left tibia. This was a total team effort from the Nuggets as every player on the bench contributed.
Big shout out to Anthony Randolph, the guy rarely plays and tonight contributed 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. Kenneth Faried also chipped in with 15 points and 11 rebounds, yet another double double for the Manimal.
The 2nd half was a very tight affair with both teams never able to pull away. As usual, Denver dominated in the paint with 70 points. Unbelievably, the Raptors who only shot 47% for the game, in the 4th quarter hit 7-10 from three, but the Nuggets kept hanging around. In the end, some key offensive rebounds by the Raptors and a clutch jumper from Rudy Gay sealed Denver’s fate.
Ty Lawson who led all scorers with 29 points and 9 assists had a chance at the end but the shot didn’t fall.
There are no moral victories in the NBA and the Nuggets will have to have a short memory as they face Brooklyn tomorrow as a win would give them a split on this 4 game road trip and maybe a few smiles headed into the All Star break.
Sammy Mugharbil
Sammy is Studying Sports Industry, Marketing, and Broadcast Journalism at Metro State University of Denver. He's an Intern with the Colorado Rapids Youth Academy, and a Volunteer for the Metro State Broadcast Network.
