Raptors Beat Nuggets 125-110 at Home, VanVleet Drops 36

The Toronto Raptors beat the Western Conference leading Denver Nuggets 125-110 on Tuesday night at home. The Raps broke a three-game losing streak to improve their NBA regular season record to 33-36 and currently sit in the 9th seed in the East, qualifying for the play-in tournament. 

Fred VanVleet led the way for Toronto, pouring in 36 points on 13-22 shooting which included eight three-pointers. He also had seven assists, three boards and three steals, to make it one of his best games of the season thus far.

OG Anunoby had a solid performance, scoring 24, while Scotty Barnes chipped in with 18. All-star Pascal Siakam had a subpar outing with only 12 points and Jakob Poeltl had yet another double-double, posting 12 points and 11 rebounds.

On the Nuggets side of the ball, the reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 7 assists and 8 rebounds. Both Michael Porter Jr and Aaron Gordon had good games as well, tallying 23 and 18 points respectively.

The Nuggets shot 55.6% overall, which was better than the Raps’ 52.7% but lost the game on the boards. Toronto had 10 more offensive rebounds which led to a huge discrepancy in second chance points. The Raps also dropped 12 shots from behind the three-point line to the Nuggets 6.

Going forward the Raptors will be looking to secure a play-in position and jostle their way into the playoffs. Both the Bulls and the Wizards are only one game behind the Raptors and could possibly push Toronto out of the play-ins if they don’t finish strong.

There doesn’t seem to be too much hope of the team taking the 6th seed to avoid the play-in games, currently sitting six and half games behind the New York Knicks.

Who’s Next for the Raptors?

Toronto will be hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder next on Thursday night. The Thunder are sitting precariously on the 10th seed in the Western Conference, half a game up on the Utah Jazz. We can expect this game to be heavily contested as both teams really need the W to solidify their position in the play-in tournament.

Don’t forget that if you want to bet on the Raptors this season, a number of top online sports betting sites are available in Ontario. See our list of the best NBA betting sites in the province to get a full picture.