TORONTO — Option No. 1 was getting swarmed in a continuation of the recent trend that has vexed him and the Nuggets. Option No. 2 might have actually been playing on one leg, as coach Michael Malone joked about before the game.
That left the Nuggets with Option No. 3 as their way out of a three-game losing streak: The player who was benched for most of the second half in the third of those losses.
Michael Porter Jr. led an impressive Denver comeback with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting here Tuesday night, but with Nikola Jokic contained and Jamal Murray not fully healthy, the Nuggets fell short of erasing a 24-point deficit in a 125-110 loss to the Raptors.