DeRozan, Lowry help Raptors salt away win
TORONTO -- The Toronto Raptors got back into the win column, defeating the Denver Nuggets 105-102 on Monday night at Air Canada Centre.
Guard DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors (2-1) with 33 points and five rebounds.
Kyle Lowry's layup with 45.3 seconds remaining put the game out of reach. He finished with 29 points, seven assists and five steals.
The win ended a two-game skid for the Raptors against the Nuggets.
Denver (1-2) was led by 16 points, six rebounds and four assists from guard Emmanuel Mudiay. Danilo Gallinari and Will Barton each added 16 points.
After trailing for much of the fourth quarter, Lowry got a driving layup to drop, capping a 6-0 surge with 3:24 remaining to tie the score at 99.
The Nuggets took their first lead of the second half with 8:49 left in the fourth quarter as forward Wilson Chandler hit a 25-foot 3-pointer that made it 91-90 and capped a 5-0 run.
Denver outscored Toronto 9-4 through the first four minutes of the second half, cutting the Raptors' lead to six. Then with just over three minutes to play in the third quarter, Chandler got a finger-roll layup to drop, pulling the Nuggets within 77-73.
With 30 seconds to go in the third quarter, Barton fell awkwardly favoring his left ankle, left the game immediately and did not return.
After Jameer Nelson dropped a 3-pointer with five seconds to go in the quarter, pulling the Nuggets within two, DeRozan hit a buzzer-beating two to give the Raptors an 88-84 lead.
The Raptors outrebounded the Nuggets 23-20 in the first half while taking a 62-49 lead into intermission.
DeRozan led the Raptors with 20 points and four rebounds as Toronto shot 51 percent from the field and held Denver to 38 percent.
Lowry added 10 points.
Barton paced the way for the Nuggets with 11 points in just over 18 minutes.
Toronto used a 9-0 run to pull away for a 27-17 lead in the first quarter and was up 33-24 at the end of the quarter.
DeRozan scored 14 points in the first quarter on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with six points and two rebounds.
NOTES: Denver F Darrell Arthur (knee) missed his third game of the season. ... Nuggets G Gary Harris (groin) was inactive for a third game. ... Denver won both meetings with Toronto last season. ... The Raptors last defeated the Nuggets on Dec. 28, 2014. ... Toronto C Lucas Noguueira (ankle) missed his third game because of injury. ... After Monday's game, Toronto travels to Washington for a date with the Wizards on Wednesday. ... Denver continues its five-game road trip in Minnesota on Thursday.