The Denver Nuggets maul Toronto Raptors 96 – 81 – NBA Recap
The Denver Nuggets are flying high at the moment in the NBA and they produced another strong performance tonight when defeating the Toronto Raptors. The game at the Pepsi Center was one-way traffic all the way and it finished 96 – 81 to the home team after
48 minutes.
The Nuggets lost quite a number of star players from last season but have been looking ominously strong recently thanks to a talented and vibrant roster. The full repertoire was on display again from the Nuggets as they with another thrilling team performance
to humble Toronto.
Danilo Gallinari, who has been a revelation so far in the 2011-2012 NBA season, had 21 points and grabbed 7 boards. Centre Nene got a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds while so did veteran point guard Andre Miller, 13 points and 12 assists. Rudy
Fernandez though stole the show with a game high 23 points off the bench.
The Raptors didn’t have a good night out. The only starter to get into double figures was James Johnson, who scored 16 points. The bench had to step in to save some grace for Toronto, with Jerryd Bayless scored 18 points while Leandro Barbosa had 19 to top
for his side.
A splendid start to the game saw Denver race to an 18 – 4 lead. They were dominant in the first quarter as Toronto wondered what hit them, ending the period down at 28 – 12.
The double digit lead wasn’t going away any time soon as the Nuggets kept on the pressure, scoring 26 points in the second period against 20 from the Raptors. At halftime, the home team was thus leading at 54 – 32, firmly in control of the game.
The Raptors seemed to have gotten a grilling during the break because they came out to play in the third segment. Toronto looked aggressive and attacked Denver valiantly. There bravado was rewarded with 32 points in the frame but that was still far from
enough as they entered the penultimate period down at 76 – 64.
A 10 – 2 run to began the final quarter by Toronto saw the gap come down to single digits in a long time, but Denver weren’t in the mood to let their good work go to waste. The Nuggets responded with a flurry of points and took the game away from their opponents
again, ending at 96 – 81.
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