With a 135-111 victory over the Denver Nuggets, the Toronto Raptors ended a nine-game losing streak. Kyle Lowry was a career-high plus-42 on the night, with nine assists, eight points, and five rebounds.
For Toronto, Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 27 points, followed by OG Anunoby with 23, Norman Powell with 22, and Fred VanVleet with 19. Soon after Lowry went to the bench with 5:43 remaining, Denver coach Michael Malone went deep into his bench, but the Raptors led 98-81 with one quarter remaining. A 21-6 run in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a deep three-pointer from Lowry and three baskets from distance from Paul Watson, put Toronto up 29 points. On hot shooting and better defensive hustle than they’d shown in a while, the Raptors built a 24-point first-half lead.
For the first time in NBA history, all five broadcast positions were filled by women. The all-female broadcast is lauded by Lowry. This season, the Raptors will play their home games at Amalie Arena in Tampa. After making five three-pointers in the first half, Toronto led 72-54 at the halftime break. The Raptors’ 10-game losing streak came to an end in this game, as they were plus-42 in the second quarter. As part of his Canadian team this summer, Nurse hopes to coach Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray.
In their last six games, the Raptors have only won one. This was the first of a three-game homestand for the team. In their next 18 games, the Raptors will only play five on the road.
News and picture Source: CBC
