Raptors 100, Nuggets 90: DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points and Terrence Ross added 18 as visiting Toronto snapped a nine-game skid when playing in Denver.

Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas added 13 points apiece for the Raptors, who have won three straight games and five of six. John Salmons contributed 11 points and nine assists as Toronto was victorious in the opener of a five-game road trip.

J.J. Hickson had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Evan Fournier also scored 18 points for the Nuggets, who were playing without point guards Ty Lawson (shoulder) and Nate Robinson (knee). Randy Foye had a career-high 16 assists but also committed eight of Denver’s season-worst 26 turnovers.

Toronto led 60-53 at halftime and exposed the absences of Lawson and Robinson in the third quarter when it forced 10 turnovers and held Denver to 17 points. DeRozan scored 14 points in the stanza as the Raptors took an 86-70 lead into the final quarter.

The lead reached 25 early in the fourth quarter as Toronto opened with an 11-2 surge that was capped by Salmons’ 3-pointer with 8:47 remaining. The Nuggets rolled off 11 straight points to pull within 99-86 with 3:31 left but then went nearly three minutes without scoring while falling for the fifth time in seven games.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Robinson tore the ACL in his left knee against Charlotte on Wednesday and underwent season-ending surgery on Friday, while Lawson missed his second straight game. … DeRozan, who was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star squad on Thursday, missed the previous two games due to an ankle injury. … Toronto was 18-of-20 from the free-throw line.