Williams and Lowry combine for 61, Raptors beat Nuggets
Lou Williams came off the bench and scored 31 points and added five rebounds, while Kyle Lowry added 30 points and 11 assists to lead the Toronto Raptors to a victory over the Denver Nuggets, 116-102. The Raptors played an efficient game offensively, shooting 43-88 (48.9%) from the field and turning it over just six times. Toronto (24-7) has now won eight of their last 10 games.
Williams shot 11-18 (4-7 from three-point range) and 5-9 from the free throw line, in a solid performance. Ty Lawson had another quality performance for Denver despite the loss, scoring 28 points on 9-17 shooting (1-4 on 3-point attempts), in addition to going 9-11 from the free throw line. He also added seven assists and five rebounds. Wilson Chandler contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds and Kenneth Faried finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds.
From a turnover perspective, this one played out like the numbers predicted. Toronto, ranked second in the NBA at avoiding miscues (TO% of 11.5%) protected the ball well in this game (6.2%). Likewise, the defense of Denver is still struggling to force turnovers, with their opponents surrendering the fifth-fewest in the league this season (12.5%). After putting up a sparkling assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.83, the Raptors are 7-1 on the season when eclipsing 2.50 in this category. However, the Nuggets are 1-3 when allowing their opponents to achieve such a lofty ratio.
This drops Denver (13-18) to 0-2 versus Toronto on the season.
Coming up, the Raptors play the Portland Trail Blazers, who are 25-7 on the season. The Nuggets meet the Los Angeles Lakers, currently sitting at 9-22 this year. The Nuggets are 1-0 versus Los Angeles this season.
