Altitude has historically given the Denver Nuggets an added home-court edge, but they haven’t taken advantage of it early this season.
Denver has dropped two of its first three games at home and would be 0-3 if not for a furious rally against New Orleans on Oct. 24. The Nuggets can even their home record when they host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
The Nuggets’ latest loss, 118-110 to Portland on Monday night, ended an 11-game home winning streak against the Trail Blazers. Denver lost a double-digit lead in large part because it was outrebounded 53-37 — and 21-9 on the offensive end.
The problem wasn’t size but effort, head coach David Adelman said.
“We got our (butts) kicked on the glass,” Adelman said. “… This was a really frustrating night. I just think we gave the game away just in the hustle categories.”
Center Nikola Jokic entered the fourth with nine rebounds but didn’t grab one in the final period. He is averaging 9.7 rebounds a game, down from 12.9 last season, and his 3-point shooting is also down. He averaged 38% from the arc in 2025-26 but is hitting on just 22.6% from there this season.
“I don’t know why, but when I’m shooting them and practicing them, I’m kind of making it,” Jokic said. “But I’m not making in the game. But I think the struggle, it’s a privilege. Pushing to get better and pushing to think of what’s the problem.”
Cameron Johnson, who missed three games after injuring his right ankle in the season opener, appeared to hurt his left hamstring late in Monday night’s loss. But Johnson was listed as probable on the injury report for Wednesday, the reason being “lower-body injury management.”
Toronto is also dealing with an injury to Kawhi Leonard. The seven-time All-Star, who has not played since a win at Washington on Oct. 23, is expected to miss three weeks with a left knee injury, so he won’t be in the lineup for the Raptors’ only visit to Denver this season.
Toronto won its first two games with Leonard in the lineup but dropped three of four before rallying to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 125-118 on Monday night. It was the second game of a four-game road trip that started at the Lakers on Sunday night and concludes in Milwaukee on Friday night.
The Raptors put up 47 points in the fourth quarter to erase a 13-point deficit against the Clippers, led by Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley, who finished with a game-high 27 points.
“Sometimes, the game is just not going your way, and you’ve got to make it go your way with defense, with stops, with rebounding, taking care of the ball,” Quickley told reporters after the game. “… But you’ve got to just kind of stick with it. I think sports teaches that a lot. When it’s not going your way, you’ve got to make it go your way.”
Barnes, who leads the team in scoring with 24.4 points a game, finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in the Clippers game.
–Field Level Media
