TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan had 33 points and Kyle Lowry made a couple key baskets late to finish with 29 points, helping the Toronto Raptors beat the Denver Nuggets 105-102 on Monday night.
Danilo Gallinari, Will Barton and Emmanuel Mudiay each had 16 points for Denver, and Jusuf Nurkic added 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
DeRozan is the first Raptor ever to start a season with three straight 30-point games, and his run is one short of Mike James' stretch from 2006 for the longest run at any point in the season.
Lowry hit a tiebreaking 14-footer with 1:36 remaining, then made it 105-102 with 45 seconds remaining on a driving layup.
Wilson Chandler's 3-pointer with 8:49 left gave the Nuggets their first lead in over 34 minutes. The Raptors had the advantage from the 4:12 mark of the first quarter, leading by 19 at one point.
The Nuggets pushed their edge to five before the Raptors clawed back, taking the lead for good on Lowry's jumper.
Jonas Valanciunas' foul on Nurkic 15 seconds later sent the center to the line, but he could only make one of two, and the Raptors extended their lead the next time down the court on Lowry's layup.
Gallinari's desperation 3-pointer as time expired hit the rim and bounced away.
Gallinari had nine points in the third quarter, helping propel the Nuggets on a 9-0 run to pull within four points. The Raptors got nine of their own from DeRozan, including a 13-foot buzzer-beater, to give them an 88-84 edge heading into the fourth quarter.
TIP INS
Nuggets: F Darrell Arthur (knee) and G Gary Harris (groin) missed their third straight games. ... Coming into Monday's game, Denver had won eight of its last 12 games in Toronto.
Raptors: C Lucas Nogueira (ankle) did not dress for the game. ... Despite setting a franchise record with 17 wins over Western Conference opponents last season, Toronto was 0-2 against Denver. ... The Raptors are now 4-4 when playing on Halloween.
BOARD PATROL
The Nuggets (59.5) and Raptors (51) entered as first and tied for third in average rebounds per game, but it was the Raptors who led the way on Monday, taking an 46-43 edge.
HALLOWEEN HOMECOMING
Denver rookie Jamal Murray, who grew up about 70 miles from Toronto in Kitchener, Ontario, played his first professional game in Canada. After scrambling to secure over 100 tickets for friends and family, Murray scored his first NBA basket following a technical foul with 10:41 to go in the fourth quarter. He finished 0 for 4 from the field with two rebounds and two assists.
DOWN AND OUT
Barton went down with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter after twisting his left ankle stepping on the foot of Toronto rookie Jakob Poeltl. Denver called a timeout and Barton eventually headed to the locker room visibly limping and did not return to the game.
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Continue their five-game swing with a matchup against Minnesota, where Denver has won four straight.