After an unspectacular showing in their preseason opener on Saturday, the Denver Nuggets rounded into form with better effort on Monday in a 112-108 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Christian Braun, Nikola Jokic, and Jamal Murray led the way with 19, 17, and 17 points respectively, playing extremely efficient basketball in limited minutes. Braun didn’t miss a shot all night. Jokic missed a couple free throws but was otherwise a perfect 5-of-5 from the field. Murray took a higher degree of difficulty shots but nailed several of them in late shot clock situations. It was an impressive showing from all three.
Aaron Gordon sat out this one, but Peyton Watson filled in well by doing the detail work defensively and as a passer for the other starters. The bench struggled a bit more than the first five, but Denver still did enough on both ends of the floor to earn a hard fought preseason victory. It was a nice tuneup game for the regular season.
Christian Braun’s confidence is soaring
So far in the preseason, Braun has made every three he’s attempted (1/1 on Saturday, 3/3 on Monday). Exactly none of them have touched the iron. Perfect swish every time, and Braun hasn’t had all day to set and fire either. He’s taking and making quick catch-and-shoot threes and seems extremely dialed in.
This Denver duo DID NOT MISS tonight 🤯🤯
Christian Braun: 19 PTS (8-8 FGM), 3 3PM
Nikola Jokić: 17 PTS (5-5 FGM)The @nuggets win the NBA Canada Series in Vancouver! pic.twitter.com/Ojax2PoTNU
— NBA (@NBA) October 7, 2025
There’s always attention being paid to the other four starters, but Braun showed last year what the offense can look like if the fifth option is also a threat. Now, he looks like more than just a threat. He might be a problem for opposing teams.
Jamal Murray’s work is paying off
Every step of the process from the offseason to now, it appears that Murray has done the right thing.
After 12 points and five assists in the first half of last game, Murray added another 17 points, four rebounds, and two assists against Toronto, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from three. He’s getting to his spots comfortably on these shots, and he’s playing with extreme confidence as well. His isolation basket against Sandro Mamukelashvili was the epitome of confident shotmaking, ending in a pull-up three and ooh’s and ahh’s from the crowd.
It’s pretty clear how much Murray prioritized being ready for this season. It’s also clear how much that’s helped him and the Nuggets in the minutes so far on both ends of the floor. He’s handling ball pressure better than anyone, getting active on defense, contesting shots, grabbing rebounds, doing all the extra stuff on top of what makes him the player he already is.
I think Murray’s ready for a big year.
31 Turnovers highlights some ball handling concerns
Going from Russell Westbrook to Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. will help Denver in some ways and hurt them in others. While Westbrook’s individual turnover rate was high, he also was one of the best Nuggets at maintaining his dribble, creating for others, and not getting bothered when other teams press.
So far through two games, that appears to be a weakness for Denver’s bench. They’ve played two defenses with a high level of activity in a preseason environment, but it’s hard to fake 31 turnovers. The Nuggets were sloppy with the ball, and they don’t have a readymade solution when teams press them in the regular season.
Whether it’s Brown, or Hardaway, or Julian Strawther, or Jalen Pickett, the Nuggets have struggled to defeat the press. It’s making the backup point guard conversation very interesting. I continue to maintain that Denver’s roster is designed for Murray to stagger with the second unit, though it also might be Cam Johnson. Both can handle pressure and protect the ball, and the Nuggets might need their playmaking against good teams.
Overall, this game was an encouraging one from the Denver Nuggets. I thought they were subpar versus the Wolves, but as a team, they brought more intensity and consistency against Toronto. They also cleaned up some mistakes defensively to prevent the wide open shots from happening as often.
This is the kind of progression fans should hope for. The Nuggets got better on Monday. They learned some more about who they are, and David Adelman added some more data points before the games count for real.
They will have a few days off, return to Denver, and get an opportunity to practice more before going out for another preseason game at the end of the week. At that point, the Nuggets will be rearing to play again with the season just around the corner.