TORONTO — Canada's Jamal Murray returned home for the first night of the next four weeks without his Denver Nuggets teammate, three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, on Wednesday.
Murray and the Nuggets survived a second-half rally by the Toronto Raptors to claim a 106-103 victory in front of 19,181 at Scotiabank Arena.
Jokic suffered a hyperextended left knee in the final seconds of the Nuggets' road loss to the Miami Heat on Monday. He is expected to miss at least four weeks.
“We did enough, but I could have been better,” said the 28-year-old from Kitchener, Ont.
Murray scored 21 points, shooting poorly on 6-of-18 from the field, including 2-of-5 3-pointers.
In his ninth season, Murray scored a career-high 25.2 points per game. His next best was last year at 21.4. But the entire basketball community knows that Murray will be the center of the opposing defense and Jokic will be on the sidelines.
“Jamal has been so good this year, man,” Nuggets head coach Dave Adelman said. “It was just nice to watch. He plays basketball so freely. I just think he's in a good place overall. So, yeah, he's got a lot of responsibility coming his way, but he can handle it.”
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“Losing Nikola means losing one of the greatest players to ever exist, ultimately. He could retire today and we would say that. But Jamal's responsibility now is to continue to play the right way because he's going to be paying attention to more than just full-court attention.”
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“He's going to be doubled and blitzed in pick-and-rolls. So, we've got to do something for Jamal. We've got to make sure he's open. We've got to do unselfish things for him, and on the other hand, he's got to continue to make the right plays, which he has.”
Murray noted that he enjoys the challenge.
“I need to play my own game, stay aggressive, stay calm and play fast,” Murray said.
“But I also try to remain selfless.”
After scoring 13 points in the first half, Murray struggled in the final two quarters until the end. But he scored four of Denver's final nine points to seal the deal in front of friends and family.
“I don’t take it for granted,” said Murray, whose hometown is an hour west of Toronto. “It's a blessing.
“It's always fun. Obviously, I have a lot of friends here, a lot of family.”
INGRAM SHOT
Brandon Ingram made the game-tying 3-point shot off balance, but his attempt fell short of the buzzer. Video review showed the ball was still at Ingram's fingertips when time expired.
The Raptors guard was asked if he felt like he tied the game.
“That’s what I did,” said Ingram, who scored a game-high 30 points. “Maybe I need to trim my nails.”
The Raptors overcame a 21-point deficit at home to defeat the Orlando Magic on Monday. They trailed the Nuggets by 13 points in the second quarter but rallied again in the second half.
JV IS BACK
Former Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas received a warm ovation before the game when his face was shown on the scoreboard. The 33-year-old Lithuanian spent the first six-plus seasons of his career with the Raptors.
With Jokic sidelined, the 6-foot-11 Valanciunas broke season highs in points (17) and minutes (23) with nine rebounds before leaving late in the third quarter with a right calf strain.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 1, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
