Ending 2025 with a showdown against the Denver Nuggets on New Year's Eve, the Raptors came into the matchup embracing the momentum of back-to-back wins (over Golden State and Orlando), battling through early adversity and fighting to secure a late-game comeback in each respective affair.
I liked during the broadcast when the panelists mentioned the Raptors not having to be the “cardiac kids,” yet still showing up in clutch moments. Against the Nuggets, it was no different —despite Toronto entering as favorites, they couldn’t escape the high-tense, closing drama. It made sense, given Denver’s injury struggles, recently losing superstar Nikola Jokic and still missing Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, and Aaron Gordon.
The Nuggets’ lineup in Toronto was led by Jamal Murray, flanked by reserves like Peyton Watson and Jonas Valanciunas, stepping into bigger roles amid Denver’s adversity. On the flip side, Toronto was with all their key rotation pieces, except veteran center Jakob Poeltl, who remains sidelined with his notable back injury.
Brandon Ingram delivered an explosive offensive performance with 30 points (a team-high), his fourth game of the season to reach that mark. Scottie Barnes continued to showcase his all-around game, recording another triple-double — just days after his historic effort against the Warriors — with 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists as the team’s center. The other starters would get their shine too, as Immanuel Quickley added 22 points, while RJ Barrett chipped in with 17 points.
However, only the starters truly sparked the offense, as Toronto's bench contributed just 12 points (across six players), while the undermanned Nuggets (merely running an eight-man rotation with three reserves) got 28 points from their bench.
At halftime, Toronto trailed 63-54, but they’ve been there before and knew how to respond. In the third quarter, they rallied, finding a strong rhythm and briefly taking a four-point lead — their largest of the game — as momentum seemed to shift in their favor. It was painful to see Jonas Valanciunas, a former Raptor, leave with a calf strain, but it could've been used to Toronto's advantage as it rendered of Denver’s key threats out of the equation. Still, the Nuggets found a huge spark from DaRon Holmes, who stepped up big when his team needed him most.
Raptors fall to Nuggets in another close encounter to end 2025
As the game wound down, it became a battle of inches, with the Raptors and Nuggets playing very close. With 14.9 seconds remaining, short-time Raptor Bruce Brown inbounded the ball to Jamal Murray, who breezed past Shead for an easy layup that made the score 106-103 in favor of Denver. On the next possession, Toronto looked to tie it with RJ Barrett, who took a contested three-pointer that missed, and Bruce Brown secured the defensive rebound. It seemed like the game was over at that moment until Brown was fouled and went to the free throw line to shoot two. He shockingly missed both free throws with still 2.7 seconds to go.
Scottie Barnes grabbed the rebound and quickly dished it out to Brandon Ingram across the court. Ingram then took an off-balance three in front of Tim Hardaway Jr., aiming to tie the game — and wouldn’t you know it, the ball went in. The Scotiabank Arena crowd and Raptors bench erupted, thinking BI’s big basket sent the game into overtime. But NBA official Zach Zarba waved it off, and Denver secured the 106-103 victory.
It was a soul-crusher of sorts, but the crowd seemed more amused at the theatrics of what they'd just seen, rather than devastated. In his post-game-presser afterward, Ingram joked that maybe he should cut his fingernails, saying he thought the shot got off just in time.