Pardon the Raptors if they are a bit skittish about their next game. Continuing a four-game trek west, they head to Denver for a game Tuesday night. If history holds, it could get ugly. There's something about the Mile High City that brings out the worst in the Raptors. They were hammered there 132-93 last season in what turned out to be the last game for head coach Sam Mitchell, who was fired the day after.
The reason? The Raptors have never been as athletic as the Nuggets and find it difficult to play at a quick pace. In addition, the change in altitude exacerbates the early season conditioning woes Toronto is fighting through.
Because Toronto isn't about to change its style for the one road game it plays each year in Denver, stealing a road win seems unlikely.
SUNS 101, RAPTORS 100: Hedo Turkoglu, who wasn't supposed to play because of an injured hip, missed two shots in the final 30 seconds as Toronto couldn't come up with the big upset.
Turkoglu's 3-point attempt went in and out with about 30 seconds to go and, after a Steve Nash miss, a 20-foot potential game-winner by Turkoglu was about a foot long.
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