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Toronto Raptors vs Denver Nuggets recap: final score and what we learned (Week of Nov 5–11, 2026)

NBA Audit · Week of Nov 5–11, 2026 · Game recap

The Denver Nuggets beat the Toronto Raptors 128-109, and it wasn't especially close. Our preview leaned Toronto, so this one goes in the miss column. The Nuggets, who we called hard to read, gave a pretty clear answer in this game.

The result

Start with how efficiently Denver scored. The Nuggets made 48 of 78 shots, good for 62 percent, and 35 assists tell you the ball kept moving. They also made 23 of 27 free throws and hit 9 of 23 from three. That's an offense that didn't need volume from deep to do damage.

Toronto actually took more shots, 84 to Denver's 78, and made 41 of them for 49 percent. The Raptors were more aggressive from three, making 12 of 34, but that 35 percent mark doesn't make up for the gap inside the arc. At the line they made 15 of 22, against Denver's 85 percent.

The glass leaned Denver's way too, 36 rebounds to 28, with the Nuggets grabbing 29 on the defensive end to Toronto's 18. Toronto did get 10 offensive boards to Denver's 7, but too many of its misses went to the other side. Denver was also called for 18 fouls to Toronto's 23, and the steals were close, 11 to 10.

How our preview held up

Not well. We picked Toronto on the strength of a bigger scoring profile: 121.9 points per game against Denver's 114.4, with the Raptors allowing 112.3 against Denver's 115. Our matchup read was that Toronto's offense held a much bigger edge against Denver's defense (6.9) than Denver's did against Toronto's (2.1).

The game flipped that. Denver scored 128, well above its usual 114.4. Toronto managed 109, well short of its 121.9. The preview said Denver's defense would be under far more strain, and the final box score says otherwise. We also wrote that Denver would need "an extra gear" offensively to stay in it, and the Nuggets found one and then some.

I'd stand by part of the logic. We said the Raptors' offense was the engine, and it only produced efficient-looking threes in volume, not the overall scoring we expected. But a pick is a pick. We leaned on season-style scoring numbers and a modest 0.3 scoring figure for Denver that turned out to understate what this offense could do on the night. We missed on that.

What it means

For Denver, this is the kind of result that makes the middling stretch we described look a lot less settled. One game doesn't erase a 3-3 run, but shooting 62 percent while passing for 35 assists is the sort of performance that gets people to look up. The real question is whether it's repeatable, and that's what to watch next.

For Toronto, the concern is how the game was lost rather than just the score. The Raptors out-attempted Denver from the field and from three, yet were out-rebounded, out-shot on percentage and sent to the line less efficiently. That's a team that spent shots without getting much back. Their recent run of 4-3 looked sturdier than Denver's, and this was a pretty hard hit to that argument.

The takeaway for us: the gap between a team's averages and what happens on a given night can be huge, and a 19-point result is a reminder to treat those averages as a starting point, not a verdict.

Read our pre-game preview: Toronto Raptors vs Denver Nuggets prediction and preview: team news, form and key matchups (Nov 4)

Final score

Team stats

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Data attribution: Stats for informational analysis only. Verify figures against official league sources.