Nuggets roll over Toronto Raptors
NEW YORK — The streaking Denver Nuggets capitalised on a slow start by the visiting Toronto Raptors to complete a wire-to-wire 96-81 win in the NBA at the Pepsi Centre on Friday in a contest between teams heading in opposite directions.
The surprising Nuggets (14-5) have won six consecutive games while the Raptors (6-14), playing without top scorer Andrea Bargnani, lost for the ninth time in their last 11. Bargnani missed his seventh game of the season with a calf injury and the Raptors have been unable to register a single victory in his absence.
The Raptors were unable to overcome an ice-cold start, missing 14 of their first 15 shots, allowing the Nuggets to build an early 16-2 lead.
The Nuggets stretched their advantage to as many as 23 points in the first half and led 54-32 at halftime.
The Raptors staged a fightback in the second half, reducing the deficit to six points with nine minutes remaining, but Danilo Gallinari scored following a Jamaal Magloire turnover and Rudy Fernandez's three-pointer pushed the lead back into double digits.
"I'm feeling good with my shots and I'm happy my Achilles is feeling better, which is more important," Fernandez told reporters.
Fernandez, returning from an Achilles tendon injury that has kept him out of the lineup in four of the last five games, paced the Nuggets with 23 points off the bench, Gallinari scored 21, and Nene had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The Raptors were led by reserves Leandro Barbosa with 19 points and Jerryd Bayless with 18. The Raptors starters combined for just 35 points.
"We can't sit back and wait for Andrea to come back," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "As has been said famously before, he's not walking through that door. It's us against the world for a while. We don't know how long it's going to be and we have to play like it."