Nikola Jokic stars, Nuggets handle Raptors

Nikola Jokic had 31 points and 15 rebounds as the visiting Denver Nuggets defeated the Toronto Raptors 113-104 Wednesday night.

Jamal Murray added 20 points for the Nuggets, who have won five of their past six.

Scottie Barnes scored 30 points and had 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who completed a 2-2 homestand.

Pascal Siakam added 18 points for Toronto.

Aaron Gordon contributed 12 points for the Nuggets, who opened a three-game road trip. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 10 points, and Michael Porter Jr. had 12 points.

Gary Trent Jr. added 12 points for Toronto, while Precious Achiuwa scored 13 points.

The Nuggets took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Gary Trent Jr. cut the lead to 13 with 10:15 to play. Trent made three free throws to cut the margin to nine with 8:01 to go. Chris Boucher's dunk had Toronto within eight points. Achiuwa's 3-pointer cut the lead to five. Denver would then go on a 12-5 run to effectively end the game.

The Nuggets led 29-20 after the first quarter.

Denver took a 12-point lead with 5:12 to play in the second quarter on Gordon's dunk following Porter's steal. The lead reached 17 on Gordon's layup with 2:34 left. The Nuggets led 61-44 at halftime.

The Nuggets shot 54.9 percent (28-for-51) in the first half from the field. Murray, who is from nearby Kitchener, Ont., had 11 first-half points.

The Raptors shot 41.3 percent (19-for-46) from the field in the first half, led by 18 points from Barnes.

Murray's 3-pointer bumped the lead to 19 early in the third quarter before the Raptors scored the next six points.

Murray banked in a jumper with 3:18 to play in the third quarter to increase Denver's lead to 20 points. Jokic's three-point play had the lead at 21. The Raptors responded with consecutive 3-pointers from Malachi Flynn and Trent. Flynn completed the scoring in the third quarter with a 3-point that trimmed Denver's lead to 90-75.

—Field Level Media