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The Denver Nuggets came back from 15 down to defeat the Toronto Raptors in overtime, 127-125, thanks to Nikola Jokic's second straight 40-point game, harkening back to former Nuggets superstar Carmelo Anthony, the last person who achieved this feat since 2009. With this victory, the team kept itself from falling to an 0-3 hole early in the season. However, their 1-3 start might not be how the team envisioned its start to a championship campaign.
Check out Jokic's full stat line per StatMamba on X, formerly Twitter.
Nuggets def. Raptors
As expected, the Nuggets starters showed up against the Raptors, with all five players scoring in double figures. However, Jokic's partner-in-crime Jamal Murray's up-and-down play continued, shooting a paltry 6-20 for 17 points.
Michael Porter Jr. also scored 13 points on 1-4 shooting from deep.
Still, Murray's clutch gene activated against the Raptors, as he hit the game-tying layup with less than a second left in regulation. Besides Jokic, Aaron Gordon also had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
However, this victory aside, this game continues to expose the Nuggets' glaring weaknesses: their top-heavy roster and thin bench.
For instance, coach Mike Malone shortened his rotation to nine players and gave his starters heavy minutes against a rebuilding Raptors team, not a good sign for a championship contender.
Moreover, Denver's bench combined for only a measly 24 points, compared to the Raptors' 37, with Ochai Agbaji contributing 15 points off the bench.
Losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency was a bigger blow than the team imagined, while adding Russell Westbrook didn't quite make up for the loss.
Not only did the Nuggets lose one of their only two-way players, it also unbalanced the roster, forcing sixth man Christian Braun to enter the starting lineup and deplete an already weak bench unit.
However, the team must have banked on Westbrook filling the void, but his production since his Lakers tenure should not have inspired any team's confidence that he could still play at a high level, even as a bench guy.
Looking ahead
As a result, the team has banked on Nikola Jokic to absorb even more of the scoring load, instead of serving as the playmaking hub that kept the team humming, which was one of the main reasons they won the NBA championship in 2023.
Playoff teams will take Jokic scoring 40 points but only dishing out four assists every time, because that means they've stopped the other guys from scoring and stalled the Nuggets' fluid and dynamic offense.
If this trend continues, and if Jamal Murray doesn't pick up his offense, the Nuggets are in deep trouble. Nikola Jokic might have to call on 2009 Carmelo Anthony over and over again just to give his team a chance to win.
