The Toronto Raptors, together with Pascal Siakam, might have come into their matchup against the Denver Nuggets after winning 8 games straight.
However, they still require a full team effort to pull out a win. Every person, from Khem Birch to OG Anunoby, will have to pitch in.
At the start of the game, the Toronto Raptors were a bit sluggish. It appeared like Nikola Jokic was going to totally destroy the team. Luckily, the Raptors was able to bounce back and achieved a couple of great interior scoring to a 1-point halftime lead.
After Jokic missed 2 late free throws, The Raptors and Nick Nurse were given a huge chance to come through and pull off a win.
However, a couple of missed shots at the buzzer helped Denver leave Canada with a 110-109 win and gave the Raptors their first loss in the past several matchups.
In this game, it seems like the Raptors did not play their best 48 minutes of basketball. The reason for this is that more than 50% of their points are only accounted for by their 2 players.
Furthermore, Raptors’ defense had no answer of the Nuggets’ bench or Jokic. A couple of players had great games. However, they only wasted their performances.
Table of Contents
Injury Report for Denver
- Michael Porter Jr.: Out (Back)
- Vlatko Cancar: Out (Foot)
- Jamal Murray: Out (Knee)
- Zeke Nnaji: Out (Hamstring)
- Monte Morris: Out (Concussion)
Injury Report for Toronto
No injury details for their players.
Series History
Out of the 12 previous games against the Toronto Raptors, the Denver Nuggets have won 7 games.
- Dec 03, 2015 – Denver 106 vs. Toronto 105
- Feb 01, 2016 – Denver 112 vs. Toronto 93
- Oct 31, 2016 – Toronto 105 vs. Denver 102
- Nov 18, 2016 – Toronto 113 vs. Denver 111
- Nov 01, 2017 – Denver 129 vs. Toronto 111
- Mar 27, 2018 – Toronto 114 vs. Denver 110
- Dec 03, 2018 – Denver 106 vs. Toronto 103
- Dec 16, 2018 – Denver 95 vs. Toronto 86
- Mar 01, 2020 – Denver 133 vs. Toronto 118
- Aug 14, 2020 – Toronto 117 vs. Denver 109
- Mar 24, 2021 – Toronto 135 vs. Denver 111
- Apr 29, 2021 – Denver 121 vs. Toronto 111
Pascal Siakam Led Toronto Raptors Once Again
Perhaps there is nothing left to say to the most remarkably good All-Star Game player in this season.
During the matchup, the Raptors have been on a tear. However, Siakam is playing his best individual ball since his All-Star season in 2019-2020.
Pascal Siakam ended the matchup with an insane 2 steals, 7 assists, 10 rebounds, and 35 points. Going 16-22 from the court, Jokic had to defend Siakam for most of the time during the game.
This is perhaps one of the most amazing games that the long-legged point forward has had during this season.
Though Scottie Barnes was aggressively taking it to the rack and Fred VanVleet was acquiring more 3—point contest practice during the game has he bombed away from deep, it was Pascal Siakam who had to go all-in with Jokic to keep the Raptors alive in the matchup.
During the game where the Raptors did not have the perfect interior defense in the entire season and Gary Trent Jr. cooled off after his 42-point streak against the Rockets, Siakam was the primary reason why the Nuggets did not step on the gas in the first half of the game and had a huge lead.
By the day, that lack of All-Star recognition appears worse.
OG Anunoby Played a Poor Game
Even though he is the star for Toronto Raptors, OG Anunoby did not play well. For most of the game, Trent was off. However, the Raptors should normally overcome a couple of the less dominant nights of Gary if players, such as Anunoby, can manage to get their game.
Unfortunately, OG did not play well. He gave a poor performance when it comes to offense. This took the shine off of a great defensive evening.
During the game, Anunoby only recorded 9 points on 4-16 shooting from the floor and 1-5 from 3-point range.
Though it requires a lot of effort and energy to play against players like Aaron Gordon and Jokic, OG should still be more effective than the other 25% of players in the court.
OG only had a single highlight-reel dunk. However, that is only it when it comes to offensive performance.
When both Trent and Anunoby have poor games, it is difficult for the Toronto Raptors to win. Unfortunately, the subpar field goal percentage of Anunoby placed him in the spotlight.
The Raptors require him to be a better shooter than he was against the Nuggets while he was performing on defense.
Player Interviews
Coach Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets said “We competed, we fought, and we found a way. This is actually a major win. The Raptors had won more games than any team this season”.
Aaron Gordon had 13 points, Jeff Green scored 19 points, and Jokic had 28 points and 15 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets won for the 3rd time in 4 games.
Will Barton had 10 points while Hyland scored 11 points.
Even though Pascal Siakam scored a season-high 10 rebounds and 35 points, the Raptors still lost the game. This is their first loss since January 26.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 11 points, Scottie Barnes had 17, and Fred VanVleet scored 25 points.
The winning streak of the Toronto Raptors was the longest active run in the NBA. In addition to that, it was also the longest winning streak of the team since a franchise-record, 15-game run from January 15 to February 10, 2020.
With 2:33 left, Barnes scored to knot it at 103-all. However, the Denver Nuggets scored 7 of the next 10 points. This led to 110-106 after the basket of Barton with 28 seconds left.
