Raptors 105, Nuggets 96
RAPTORS 105, NUGGETS 96: Andrea Bargnani scored 26 points, including 10 in the final 5:31, as host Toronto snapped a nine-game losing streak to a Denver club that missed its final 15 field goal attempts.
DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points and Jose Calderon had 10 points and 10 assists for the Raptors, who last defeated the Nuggets on March 23, 2007.
Ty Lawson recorded 26 points – none in the fourth quarter – and nine assists for the Nuggets, who fell into a three-way tie for seventh with Utah and Houston in the Western Conference.
Toronto scored 10 straight points – capped by Bargnani’s 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer – to take a 98-94 lead with 4:48 remaining.
After two Arron Afflalo free throws cut the lead to two, Bargnani scored five straight points, including a 3-pointer to make it 103-96 with 2:34 to go.
Toronto led by as much as 10 in the second quarter before the Nuggets went on a 13-3 run to go ahead 53-52 with three seconds left. The Raptors took a 55-53 lead into intermission, though, after Linas Kleiza knocked down a 35-footer at the buzzer.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Andre Miller’s basket with 8:24 left was Denver’s last field goal. … Denver fell to 13-2 against the Eastern Conference. … Toronto had 10 offensive rebounds in the third quarter. … Bargnani scored the game’s first seven points. …The Nuggets, who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, are 1-3 on their season-high seven-game road trip.