LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Stanley Johnson had 23 points and the Toronto Raptors concluded the standings by beating the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday.
Four of the Raptors’ five starting players had a break.
Paul Watson, whose contract is two-fold, obtained 22 points.
Norman Powell provided 15 points, Terence Davis 14, Matt Thomas 12 and Malcolm Miller 10.
Marc Gasol was the only starter in action. He registered two points and five assists.
Montrealer Chris Boucher had nine points, nine rebounds and one block.
The Raptors have shown a 7-1 record in classification games.
For the entire regular season, we’re talking about a performance of 53-19 (a win rate of .736, the best in the history of the organization).
“I would say that not many people expected this kind of season,” said coach Nick Nurse, before the game. Several guys answered the call. Several guys have made great strides forward.
“Our defense was exceptional and we were resilient given the injuries. “
The club’s top five scorers have all missed at least 10 games with injuries.
“It was a great effort from everyone for the first 60+ games,” said Nurse. And once we got here, we kept that momentum. It is a pleasure to be part of this club. “
PJ Dozier led the Nuggets with 20 points, 9 more than Ontarian Jamal Murray.
The Kitchener player missed his first four games in the bubble, annoyed in the back of the thigh.
The Raptors had the lead by 16 points early in the second quarter, en route to a 58-50 cushion at the half.
Toronto will open the first round on Monday at 4 p.m. (on RDS), against Brooklyn. Nurse had good words for the Nets.
“They were one of the surprises of the revival,” he said of their 5-3 record, including wins over the Bucks and Clippers.
“They have a fast tempo and they play with a lot of confidence. Caris LeVert is a superb young scorer, and they have veterans with great track records. We respect them. We’re going to have to play really well to beat them. “
Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet were left out this afternoon for this last game.
OG Anunoby and Serge Ibaka were absent due to swelling in their knees.
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