Raptors at Nuggets
The Toronto Raptors are enduring their first losing streak in over two months after dropping back-to-back home games to the Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Hornets and are about to embark on a five-game road trip through the Western Conference. The Raptors will try to avoid their first three-game slide since early December when they visit the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
Toronto won 17 of 18 before dropping the last two and is looking forward to getting out on the road and finding some continuity with a rotation in flux due to injuries. "We've usually done pretty good out there, we're a pretty good road team," Raptors coach Nick Nurse told reporters. "I think we've been home for a long time. I think you guys understand that sometimes home is really busy. There's a lot of things going on. It seems like stuff every day. It's almost like you get a chance to actually regroup on the road." The Nuggets are looking to regroup as well after losing sole possession of second place in the Western Conference with a 132-103 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. "They didn't feel us on either end," Denver coach Michael Malone told reporters. "They got whatever they wanted. We couldn't run offense because they took us out of our stuff. We just allowed them to do it for 48 minutes."
TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: Sportsnet One, Altitude
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (42-17): Toronto got one player back but lost two more on Friday as Norman Powell reentered the lineup for the first time since suffering a broken finger on Jan. 31 while guard Fred VanVleet sat out to rest a sore shoulder and forward Serge Ibaka missed the game with knee soreness - leaving both players day-to-day. Powell scored 22 points on 8-of-19 shooting in 36 minutes, but the team missed Ibaka's size in the middle and was outrebounded 66-56. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson started in place of Ibaka and was held to four points on 2-of-8 shooting.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (40-19): Denver last beat a team with a winning record at Utah on Feb. 5 and Malone is concerned about his team's execution on the offensive end. "I learned when I was a young kid to read what the defense gives you," Malone told reporters. "We're not reading the defense at all we're just trying to force things that are not there. We'll get back at it and clean this up and hopefully, we can get back to competing at a high level." Star center Nikola Jokic was a notable exception to the offensive struggles on Friday, scoring 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting in the loss, and is shooting 74 percent from the floor in four games since the All-Star break.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors SF OG Anunoby recorded a career-high six steals on Friday.
2. Nuggets F Jerami Grant is averaging 24.5 points in the last two contests.
3. Denver took both meetings last season and three of the last four in the series.