It was a 15 point loss in the end, but as the HQ notes, the Raps fought as best they could, ultimately unable to overcome a big early deficit...

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-The Toronto Raptors' scoring woes sans Andrea Bargnani continued in their 96 to 81 loss tonight to the Denver Nuggets. The Raps scored only 12 first quarter points, and only seven points in the game's final nine minutes ensuring a win by the Nugs at home. The loss snaps the Dinos short-lived win streak at two games.

-On the plus side, what looked like a blowout early thanks to the Nuggets 54 to 32 halftime lead, turned into a competitive affair thanks to a scrappy Raps' second unit. Players like Jerryd Bayless and Leandro Barbosa were instrumental in cutting Denver's lead down to a mere six points, but unfortunately that's as close as things got. The Dinos' offence died when the starters returned, James Johnson, a key player in keeping this one close all night, fouled out, and the Nuggets pulled away for good.

-Rudy Fernandez led all scorers with 23 points on an nearly unconscious night of shooting. He was 9 of 11 from the field and his first quarter shooting was a big reason the Raps got in the hole they did. Not to be outdone though, Nene and Danilo Gallinari both posted 20 point evenings with Danilo's 21 coming at key points in terms of keeping the Raps at bay. His 22 foot jumper with about eight minutes to play ended Toronto's run, pushed the Nuggets lead over six again, and by getting to the line four times in the game's final minutes, he effectively ensured the Raps' comeback was over.

-For the Raptors, as noted, Barbosa and Bayless both had strong scoring games, combining for 37 points off the bench. James Johnson had 16 himself but got nothing in terms of help from his fellow starters. Yes, Aaron Gray turned in a good game on the glass, grabbing 11 rebounds in only 15 minutes, but in terms of scoring, Jose Calderon and DeMar DeRozan shot a combined 6 for 25 on the night.

-Anything else of note in this one?

-Well, maybe a small pushing match between Linas Kleiza and Al Harrington with about 30 seconds left in the match.

-It got testy for a minute and there were some technical fouls and hard stares between teams.

-But that was about it and now Toronto heads to New Jersey to face the Nets and finish off this wild road trip.

Let's face it. No Bargs tonight makes this one a very tough challenge. But the Nuggets aren't 100 per cent either so time for the Dinos to dig in and get a much-needed W.

GO RAPS!

Tonight, it's another light Friday of action but we do have Laurent Rivard and his Harvard teammates looking to take down an upstart Yale team in classic Ivy League action ...

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Good news for the Toronto Raptors and their star forward-centre, Andrea Bargnani as the team announced that there was 'no significant damage' to his left calf. Bargnani reinjured his calf during Wednesday's overtime victory in Utah. Tests conducted while the team is in Denver provided the results announced on Thursday in a team press release.

Bargnani will begin treatment with no timeline given for his return. He originally injured the calf on January 11 against the Sacramento Kings. He missed six games before returning Tuesday in Phoenix where he scored 36 points in a win over the Suns.

The 26-year-old Italian started the season strong with a career-high .476 shooting percentage to along with the best defensive rebounding percentage (17.6) of his six-year career.

During Bargnani's six-game absence, Ed Davis moved into the starting lineup along side Amir Johnson. Arron Gray, however, got the start in the Raptor's last two games in Phoenix and Utah although he only played about 15 minutes in each contest.

An Andrea Bargnani-less Toronto Raptors team takes on the Nuggets tonight in Denver. The HQ breaks it down, worrying about containing the Nuggs' high-powered O...

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Today we have more Trade Steve Nash stuff, a great story on Nik Cochran out of Davidson, Nirra Fields is nominated to the McDonald's All American game, LeBron to mentor Tristan Thompson (yikes) and a lot of NBL Canada, CIS and CCAA news right here in this edition of Canadian Content ...

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Tonight, as a prelude to a busy weekend, we have a quartet of great games that feature some Catamounts, some Seahawks, a few Aggies and some Bulldogs as well as a few great lady ballers too ...

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