Coming off a win against the Philadelphia Sixers, the Denver Nuggets hoped to continue their summer success.
They did more than that, squashing the Raptors by a 90-79 margin to bring their NBA Summer League record to 2-0.
Point guard Taurean Green posted a game-high 17 points with four assists, and Dahntay Jones added 16 points and three rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting.
Center Elton Brown continued his outstanding play, finishing with another double-double: 11 points and 10 boards, while fellow rookie Sonny Weems followed up a strong 17-point performance Saturday with only two points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Joey Graham led the Raptors with 16 points, while John Lucas, Hassan Adams, and Sean Banks scored 11 apiece.
The game began with the Nuggets jumping out to an 11-2 lead, spearheaded by three-pointers from Green, Bobby Jones, and Mike Hall.
Jones scored eight of his 10 points in the first quarter, and Denver built on the lead, making it 28-14 at the end of the frame.
In the second quarter, the Nuggets defense of old reared its ugly head, Toronto outscoring Denver, 19-11, in the second to cut it to 39-34 going into halftime.
As the third quarter started, so did the increase of the Toronto Raptors' will to win.
Toronto went on a 6-2 run early in the quarter, limiting the deficit to 42-40, Denver. Bobby Jones scored seven straight points to push the lead back out of reach, though, at 55-46. The Raptors responded with a 12-6 run, capped off by a Lucas-Banks alley-oop, once again cutting it to a one-possession game, 61-58 with 1:25 remaining.
Meanwhile, Green managed to keep Denver afloat, posting 14 points alone in the period, and the Nuggets graciously took a four-point lead into the final section, 67-63.
The fourth quarter proved to be the game-deciding span.
The Raptors, however did tie the game at 67 with 8:43 remaining, after a pair of Sean Banks free throws. But that was the best position they had the rest of the way.
From that point on, The Nuggs outscored the Raps, 23-12, to seal the game, and activated their inner Spurs, holding the opposition without a field goal for a total of 6:08. From 9:44 to 5:44 and 5:44 to 2:52.
My analysis:
Taurean Green must have caught wind of my criticism as he delivered tonight.
If Green contiues to play the way he did against the Raptors, it will be tough to deny him the starting point guard job.
Dahntay Jones continued his good play, scoring over the 15-point plateau yet again, and is certainly almost pressing for a spot on the team for the 2008-09 season.
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