NBA Game Preview - Toronto at Denver

Sun Dec 16, 2018 8:00 PM EST

Sunday night's marquee matchup in the NBA features the top teams in the Eastern and Western Conference.

No, it's not Boston vs. Golden State, as many would expect. Instead, Toronto and Denver lead their respective conferences a third of the way through the season.

The Raptors (23-8) come into Sunday's matchup in Denver banged up, but they have company. The Nuggets are missing three starters from opening night but have been able to push through for their best start in decades.

Denver (19-9) leads the Western Conference this late in the season for the first time despite not having forward Paul Millsap (broken toe), guard Gary Harris (hip) and forward Will Barton (core muscle surgery). Coach Michael Malone has dug deep into his bench and found some production.

Most notable among the players stepping up is third-year forward Juancho Hernangomez. The Spaniard has played well this season, including 16 points in a key win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.

He also had a big block in the final seconds of a 100-98 win over Golden State in the third game of the season.

"Juancho always plays extremely hard," Malone told reporters after Friday's win. "I think in his first two years he was playing very hard but not a lot of discipline. He was just all over the place. I think he's calming down, he's understanding who he's guarding, tendencies, he's having a lot more discipline within the game plan."

Toronto has also adjusted to injuries, but it will be tested without center Jonas Valanciunas, who underwent surgery on his dislocated left thumb Thursday and is expected to miss four to six weeks.

Forward Kawhi Leonard scored 28 Friday night at Portland after missing two games with a hip injury, and guard Kyle Lowry is listed as questionable for Sunday's game with a thigh injury. He didn't play against the Trail Blazers two nights after having 23 points and 12 assists in a win at Golden State.

Lowry had been struggling a bit before the win over the Warriors, which was a surprise to teammate Fred VanVleet.

"It's unusual to see a guy who plays at a high level like that go through slumps," VanVleet told reporters earlier in the week.

"But it comes and goes. It was just shot-making, really. It wasn't like he wasn't showing effort. He was probably frustrated he wasn't making shots, but that comes and goes, and he's right back where we want him, and where we need him to be."

VanVleet had 21 points and eight assists Friday and likely will be tasked with trying to contain Denver point guard Jamal Murray.

The job of containing Nuggets center Nikola Jokic should fall to Serge Ibaka or Pascal Siakam, but not many have been able to contain the Serbian.

Toronto will be looking for some revenge, too. The Nuggets snapped the Raptors' eight-game winning streak with a 106-103 victory on Dec. 3. Jokic had a triple-double and Lowry missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.

Denver had Millsap and Harris in that game but won't have either Sunday.