Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, rookie Bryce Hopkins scored a career-high 18 points and the host Denver Nuggets used a dominant third quarter to defeat the Toronto Raptors 128-109 on Wednesday night.
Jokic secured his third triple-double of the season and the 201st of his career by the end of the third quarter and sat out the final 12 minutes. Denver outscored Toronto 41-15 in the third and 64-42 in the second half.
Aaron Gordon scored 17 points, Jamal Murray contributed 14, Cameron Johnson had 12, Christian Braun added 11 and Marvin Bagley III chipped in 10 for the Nuggets, who played without DeMar DeRozan (back spasms).
RJ Barrett led the Raptors with 22 points, Scottie Barnes scored 17, and Immanuel Quickley and Collin Murray-Boyles finished with 13 points apiece. Jakob Poeltl scored eight points in his return after missing two games with left shoulder bursitis.
The Raptors shot 59.1% (26 of 44) in the first half, but Denver turned up the defensive pressure in the third. Toronto went 5 of 23 from the field in the period and committed seven turnovers.
The Nuggets opened the third with a 20-6 run to take an 11-point lead, but a flopping call and a flagrant-1 foul on Gordon led to a five-point possession for the Raptors. Toronto had a chance to cut the deficit to eight, but Jamison Battle missed a 3-pointer.
Denver then took control. Murray scored the next four points, Jokic hit two short jumpers in the lane and drew a foul on a 3-point attempt. He made all three free throws and fed Hopkins for a layup. Hopkins then scored six straight points for the Nuggets to make it 103-81.
Barnes split a pair of free throws, and Jokic secured his triple-double with an offensive rebound and layup to give Denver a 23-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Denver rallied from a six-point deficit to tie the game at 47 midway through the second quarter, but the Raptors responded with a 12-2 run to take a 59-49 lead on a Murray-Boyles tip-in. The Nuggets chipped away, as Gordon’s dunk brought them within 67-64 at halftime.
