Rudy Gay drained the game-winning shot in the final seconds as the rejuvenated Toronto Raptors withstood a furious fightback from the Denver Nuggets for a 109-108 victory over one of the NBA's hottest teams on Tuesday.
Trailing by a point with five seconds remaining, Toronto's newest acquisition drained the go-ahead jump shot just before Ty Lawson's attempt to give the visitors the win bounced off the rim as the final buzzer sounded.
"He has done it at high levels like in the playoffs ... I have seen him do it so many times. That is what he does."
With the win, the Raptors (20-32) moved to within six games of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but, perhaps more importantly for fans of the long struggling team, improved to 4-2 since acquiring Gay last month.
Gay, who also had the game-winner last Friday in Indiana, entered the game averaging 23.4 points for the Raptors after scoring 17.2 per game with the Memphis Grizzlies this season.
He got off to a fast start against the Nuggets, scoring 13 points in the first quarter as Toronto built their biggest lead of the game. But the 26-yeard-old forward got into foul trouble and had to watch from the bench until late in the game.
"Oh man, my hands were sweating and I couldn't stop moving my legs, I was itching to get out there," said Gay, who finished with 17 points. "Obviously it's not a game I am proud of but I am proud to get this win with the team."
DeMar DeRozan had a team-high 22 points for the Raptors, who take a three-game winning streak to New York for a game against the Knicks on Wednesday.
For Denver (33-20), playing in their first game since the team's longest winning streak in nearly eight years ended in Sunday's triple-overtime loss to the Boston Celtics, the loss was their fourth in 19 games.
Lawson paced the Nuggets with a game-high 29 points.
Photograph: Jon Blacker/Reuters