The Denver Nuggets didn’t let one bad night turn into a skid.
Coming off a disappointing loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver returned home Wednesday and handled the Kawhi Leonard-less Toronto Raptors with a 128-109 win. It was the Nuggets’ first victory over a team with a winning record this season, and it pushed them to 4-3 in a game that gave them exactly the kind of response they needed.
Nikola Jokic set the tone. After a slow start to the season had sparked plenty of chatter about whether his prime was slipping, the three-time MVP looked like himself again.
He finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists and 3 steals while going 13-19 from the field. It was his most efficient shooting night of the season and his third triple-double in seven games.
One detail stood out: Jokic went just 0-1 from three. That came after he had shot only 22.6% from deep over his first six games, and on Wednesday he found a simpler formula. The Nuggets would gladly take that version of him if it keeps him operating at this level, even if they still want the long-range touch to come around.
Denver also got an unexpected boost from Bryce Hopkins. Just minutes before tipoff, the Nuggets ruled out sixth man DeMar DeRozan with back spasms, forcing a late adjustment to the rotation. Hopkins stepped into the opportunity and delivered a career-high 18 points and four rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench, shooting 6-7 from the floor and 1-1 from beyond the arc.
The second-round rookie has been making a strong early impression alongside co-rookie Trevon Brazile, and the Nuggets appear to have found two of the biggest steals of the 2026 NBA Draft. Hopkins keeps showing he can contribute on both ends, and while his role will likely depend on injuries, he’s already proven he can be a useful answer when the team needs one.
What made the win even more interesting was how Denver did it. The Nuggets hit only 9-23 from three-point range, a number that usually makes life difficult in today’s NBA. Three-point shooting has been a concern for this group despite leading the league in three-point percentage last season, and Wednesday didn’t exactly erase that issue.
Cameron Johnson led the way from deep with four made threes, and Jamal Murray was the only other Nugget to hit multiple triples, finishing with two. Still, Denver’s offense found plenty of room inside the arc, shooting 62% from the field and leaning on that efficiency to put Toronto away.
The long ball may still be a work in progress, but the Nuggets got the result they needed.
In Other News...
Nuggets Are Suddenly Linked To A Trade That Could Fix A Real Need
The Clippers rough start to the 2026-27 season has already pushed them into a familiar place for a struggling team: listening on useful veterans, even ones who have held up well individually. Kris Dunn has been one of the brighter spots in Los Angeles, but with the team sitting at 1-6, his name has started to surface in trade chatter, and that has naturally opened the door for other clubs to circle.
For Denver, the fit is obvious enough to make the idea linger. The Nuggets have been looking for ways to shore up the backcourt defensively, and Dunn would check that box in a way few available guards can. The proposed framework would send Zeke Nnaji and draft compensation to the Clippers, a price that reflects how much value a defense-first guard can carry when a contender thinks it has found a real roster need. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Have An Early Problem That Keeps Putting More On Jokic
The early-season trend has been hard to miss for Denver: the Nuggets are giving away too many possessions on the defensive glass, and Nikola Jokic is being asked to cover for it more often than he should. Through the first six games, the drop-off has shown up in Jokics rebound numbers and in the teams broader ranking near the bottom of the league in defensive rebounding, a problem that has already started to shape how opponents attack them.
Jamal Murray acknowledged the issue after the loss to Portland, pointing to the need for the group to do more to support Jokic on the boards. For a team built around Jokics all-around brilliance, the concern is less about one rough night than the accumulation of extra work it creates, especially when the Nuggets are already chasing rebounds at a level that leaves little margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Lose DeMar DeRozan At Worst Possible Time
The Nuggets got a late jolt to their rotation just before facing Toronto, with DeMar DeRozan ruled out minutes before tip-off because of low back spasms. It is the kind of last-second change that forces a team to rethink its plan on the fly, especially when the matchup already carries a little extra edge against the Raptors.
Denver still had some injury uncertainty of its own, though Cameron Johnson and Alpha Diallo were expected to play, and the staff may need to lean on depth to absorb the loss. Bryce Hopkins is among the players who could see a bigger role in the shuffle, while Toronto also entered the night short-handed without Kawhi Leonard. [Read more 🡒]