Even with young legs, the fourth game in four days caught up with the Denver Nuggets.
Despite another big game from swingman Jordan Hamilton, the Nuggets fell to the Toronto Raptors 95-78 on Thursday at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
“We did look a little fatigued out there,” Nuggets assistant coach Ryan Bowen said.
Denver (1-4) was eliminated from tournament play and will conclude its summer-league schedule Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies at 5:30 MT.
After scoring 23 points on Wednesday, Hamilton finished with a game-high 25 points against the Raptors. He hit 10 of 21 shots, including 4 of 10 from 3-point range, and added three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
“It’s great to see how Jordan Hamilton bounced back these last two days,” Bowen said. “The first couple days were a struggle and then he missed one game. For him to come back putting up big numbers, it was really good to see.”
Quincy Miller also played well, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds. One day after going 5-for-5 from 3-point range, he was 2-for-3 from behind the arc.
Denver led 18-17 early but never regained the advantage after the Raptors closed the first quarter on a 12-4 run. Toronto took a 10-point lead into halftime and the Nuggets could never get closer than five points after the break.
All five Toronto starters scored in double figures, with Dwight Buycks leading the way with 18 points and 10 assists. Jonas Valanciunas added 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Raptors outrebounded Denver 48-28.
“We really had no answer for (Valanciunas),” Bowen said. “He’s just a load down there. He’s a heckuva big man. We thought he was the best big man here (at summer league) and he showed it today.”