Jokic pours in 40, sends Barnes to locker-room as Nuggets edge Raptors in OT
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Like a wild west duel from long ago days, two NBA stars battled it out on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena.
Scottie Barnes and Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic went shot for shot until late in the fourth quarter when the Raptors all-star took an elbow to the eye from the three-time NBA MVP and was forced out of the game. The sequence was all the Nuggets needed to erase a late Raptors lead and force overtime before pulling out a 127-125 win.
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Jokic pours in 40, sends Barnes to locker-room as Nuggets edge Raptors in OT Back to video
The Raptors were up three late in regulation after Ochai Agbaji split a pair of free throws. A Jokic layup was followed by another Raptors free-throw split, this time by Davion Mitchell, giving the Nuggets one more shot to tie or win.
Kitchener native Jamal Murray tied it in spectacular fashion with an air-reverse layup to force overtime. Murray had hit only five of his first 15 shots in the game, but saved the best for last.
Murray and Jokic then combined to send the visitors on a 10-2 run to start the extra time. Toronto battled to within two late, but RJ Barrett missed a three-pointer and Toronto couldn’t put back a couple of rebound attempts as the buzzer sounded, giving the Nuggets their first win of the young season at 1-2, and dropping the Raptors to 1-3.
A game after scoring 41 points, Jokic finished with 40, while Barnes had 21 points plus 12 rebounds, nine assists, five steals and one massive block.
Toronto was boosted by the season debut of Barrett, who had been out since the pre-season opener. He looked like he hadn’t missed a day, though, hitting a three-pointer then getting into the paint whenever he wanted. Barrett had 16 points heading into overtime and finished with 20.
His countryman Murray had 17 points, plus nine rebounds and seven assists.
Toronto started just 1-for-7 on three-pointers, 4-for-15 for the first half and struggled for much of the night from deep. Later, a huge first-half points-in-the-paint advantage evaporated.
Denver trailed for most of the game after the first quarter, but found a way to win.
Toronto was again without starting point guard Immanuel Quickley and reserves Kelly Olynyk, Bruce Brown and Ja’Kobe Walter.
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