Doubters Awaken the Beast: Nikola Jokić Drops Vintage Triple-Double as Nuggets Cruise Past Raptors /VIDEO/

Pulse Sports Team 06:11 - 05 November 2026

Nikola Jokić recorded his 201st career triple-double with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists, powering the Denver Nuggets to a dominant 128-109 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Nikola Jokić watched the entire fourth quarter from the bench after tallying a 32-point triple-double to guide the Denver Nuggets to their first blowout win of the season. Make no mistake: the real Jokić has officially arrived in the 2026-27 NBA campaign.

He had been in Denver. He had traveled on the team plane and stayed in the team hotels. He went through warmups, played the games, and cooled down afterward. He had even engaged in the occasional exchange with the home crowd. But it was not until Wednesday night that he truly returned to his second home—the paint at Ball Arena. Jokić scored 26 of his 32 points inside the key to lead the Nuggets to a commanding 128-109 victory over the Toronto Raptors. Through the first six games of the season, the three-time MVP had been averaging just 12 paint points per game, prompting pundits to openly wonder if his decline had begun.

Those concerns proved premature. Jokić recorded his 201st career triple-double before the third quarter even ended. After spearheading a decisive 41-15 surge in the third frame, he was granted the rest of the night off. He finished Denver's first lopsided victory of the season with 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals, and just two turnovers.

The Serbian center even took on the assignment of defending Raptors star wing Scottie Barnes for several possessions late in the first half. It was an unconventional tactical wrinkle from David Adelman and Jared Dudley that disrupted the rhythm of Darko Rajaković's squad. The Nuggets (4-3) erased a 10-point deficit to trail by just three at the break, setting up their most dominant quarter of the year.

Six Denver players scored in double digits. With DeMar DeRozan sidelined at the last minute due to back spasms, rookie Bryce Hopkins made the most of his playing time, scoring 18 points on a flawless 6-of-6 from the field. Aaron Gordon added 17 points along with a momentum-shifting block during the second-quarter comeback, while Jamal Murray chipped in 14 points, five rebounds, and seven assists in a quiet outing by his recent standards.

Jokić's renewed intensity set the tone for the entire team. He had struggled to impose his will from the mid-range and the low block over the opening week. His usual tenacity battling through crowded defenses had dipped, resulting in fewer touches around the rim—a trend Denver was eager to correct.

“I think a lot of it came down to defensive pressure,” Adelman said.

“We had to initiate our offense earlier, which often left him catching the ball at the top of the key in a five-out look. We made a conscious effort in our last game to get him down on the block. Naturally, he reads and reacts to the game. We ran off-ball actions to get him to the low post; when defenders went under screens, that sometimes flowed into side pick-and-rolls where he popped out. But I'd love to see him on the low block more often. Of course, post play is dictated by the perimeter shooting around him, so those concepts also depend on the other four players on the floor.”

Toronto started the versatile Collin Murray-Boyles at center instead of usual starter Jakob Poeltl—a tough defensive assignment against an aggressive Jokić. Christian Braun fed him on Denver's opening possession, and when help defense failed to arrive, Jokić backed his way in for an easy layup. He continued to exploit favorable one-on-one matchups until the Raptors were forced to collapse inside. By the end of the opening quarter, Jokić had already poured in 13 points on 10 shot attempts.

Murray-Boyles and Barnes alternated guarding him, fronting the post and aggressively swiping at the ball. Jokić was left bewildered at one point when officials waved off a continuation call on a foul by Murray-Boyles, erasing what could have been a four-point play.

When Barnes and Poeltl finally shared the court, the Raptors hid Poeltl on Nuggets rookie Trevon Brazile, allowing Barnes—one of the NBA's elite defensive forwards—to match up directly with Jokić. Toronto has long been one of the league's best-equipped teams to throw athletic wings at Jokić, a blueprint dating back to OG Anunoby's tenure with the franchise.

Over the course of the game, Jokić took the double-teams in stride and picked the defense apart. Denver finished a dominant plus-25 in his 30 minutes on the floor.

Denver also benefited from the return of Cam Johnson, who was cleared to play following a left hamstring scare on Monday. He provided the necessary floor spacing to punish Toronto's defensive rotations, hitting 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.

“It's one of those rare times—maybe the first time in six years—where the doctors say, ‘This doesn't look good,’ and the next morning it turns out to be much better than expected,” Adelman joked before tip-off. “That rarely happens. It was great to wake up to that kind of news. Over the past two years, I was used to waking up to Grade 2 hamstring strains and a four-week absence. We've dealt with plenty of that, as has much of the league. So this was the best-case scenario.”

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