DENVER — Momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher. 

It’s a baseball truism, credited to Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver. But it’s spring. Baseball season is around the corner, and it’s broadly applicable. The Toronto Raptors couldn’t have arrived in Denver in a better state: fully healthy other than the troublesome left thumb that has kept rookie Colin Murray-Boyles out for his 10th consecutive game. 

They were also coming off three straight wins, each impressive in its own way.

You could feel the Raptors' energy uptick. Even in Denver. 

“There’s so much opportunity out there for them. I think they see that,” said Nuggets head coach David Adelman. “You don’t know what’s gonna happen … I think they’ve been playing on a high all year because they’ve been in the mix all year … they’re a legit team in the conference. When you feel like that late in the season, it’s kind of a new feeling. They’re taking advantage of that. The momentum is high right now.”

But the Nuggets had three-time MVP Nikola Jokic taking the mound Friday night. Canadian all-star Jamal Murray waiting in relief. The team that was missing four starters when they beat the Raptors in Toronto on New Year's Eve was missing only Peyton Watson.

Would the Raptors' momentum, built on wins over Phoenix, Detroit and Chicago, continue to build? Or would the Nuggets mow them down like prime Roy Halladay?

The final score — 121-115 in favour of Denver — suggests no, the momentum did not carry over. At least not completely.

But a more charitable interpretation is that the Raptors were in the mix down the stretch against a veteran team with championship aspirations and only failed to beat Denver at what they do best: manipulating the final possessions of close games, something that has been a Raptors weakness for much of the season.

But the Raptors (39-30) remain fifth in the Eastern Conference as they head to Phoenix for the third game on their five-game road trip. And they remain confident that they have something building.

The Raptors starters, for example, were all in the double figures, led by another impressive outing by Jakob Poeltl, who finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and two steals and helped hold Jokic to a relatively modest (for him) 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists — all below his season averages. As a group, the Raptors........

© Sportsnet