Jokic Has a Coming Out Party Against Toronto

Toronto was one of the hottest teams in the NBA coming into the game, winning 11 straight before they came to town. They are second in the Eastern Conference and are only a couple of games out of first, but none of that mattered when they stepped into Pepsi Center. The Raptors did not look like a team that rattled off 11 straight. The Nuggets deserve a lot of credit for that, they played great defense Nikola Jokic had a coming out party on the offensive side of the ball. They cruised to a 112-93 victory and righted the ship on this important seven game stretch before the All-Star break.

Jokic got off to a fantastic start and scored the first 11 points for the Nuggets and assisted on the next basket. He added two boards and a block in the quarter as well. He continued to play well for the remainder of the half and was in triple double range going into the half with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Jokic was not the only player to play great in the first half. Even Randy Foye decided to get in on the action and scored 7 points in nine minutes. Gallinari scored 10 points in the first half on 3-3 shooting and played fantastic defense to top it off as well. The team shot 54.3% from the field collectively shot 54.3% from the field and held Toronto to a mere 38.5%. The difference in field goal percentage was the main contributor to the 60-49 lead that Denver carried into halftime. The team did a fantastic job of facilitating the ball and finished with an incredible 17 assists in the first half. Mudiay, Gallo and Jokic did a great job of finding the open man.

They got off to a rough start in the third quarter, but fortunately, the Raptors didn't feel like taking control of the game. Jokic continued to dominate the game and showed off some fancy posts moves on his was to a pivotal 6 straight points in the third quarter. He is going to be a star has probably earned himself at least 30 minutes per game until the season ends. Tim Connelly deserves all of the credit in the world for drafting him in the second round in 2014.  He is the best young player on the roster currently. He and Mudiay could make a great 1-2 punch in 5 years if everything goes well. He finished with career highs in points and rebounds with 27 and 14. This was probably his coming out party, look out for him to become a well known name in a year or two.

The Nuggets ran away with the game to start the fourth quarter and worked up to a 27 point lead at one point. This game is up there with one of the best game for the Nuggets this season. They did everything right: They had 60 points in the paint, 24 assists, shot 52% from the field and won the rebounding battle. There is not really one negative thing you could say about any player after this game.

Mudiay had an impressive game as well. He only had 4 points, but also had 8 assists and more importantly, only one turnover. It's always nice to see him have games where he limits his turnovers, without sacrificing his assist totals. Will Barton should also get recognition for his game as well. He finished with 20 points 7 rebounds and was a staggering +22 while he was on the court, before they let up late in the fourth quarter.

They made up for losing to the Pacers two nights ago. They are now on track again to win 5 of their last 7 games, which is much needed if they want to make their playoff push after the All-Star break. Their next game will be at Utah on Wednesday. That is a game they should win, but is tricky since they are on the road and its a divisional game.

Promising games from young players like Jokic make the games so much more enjoyable to watch. Getting a glimpse of what those players might be someday helps many fans get through seasons like these.