TORONTO -- A lot of things needed to go right for the Denver Nuggets to end their eight-game losing streak on Thursday.

They took the lead practically from the opening tip and never trailed, they led by as many as 18 points in the first half, they were 18-for-18 from the free throw line and they shot 12-for-27 (44.4 per cent) from 3-point range.

It was just enough to hold on for a 106-105 win over the Toronto Raptors, who got a 3-pointer from guard Kyle Lowry at the final buzzer to shave the margin of victory to one point.

"It's great, especially when you've lost (eight) games in a row and just to know we can play against a very good team on the road and close it out at crunch time," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "And to our credit we did not miss a free throw tonight. We made some big plays (going) to the rim, got fouled and made our free throws, which I think was really important for us to pull out the win tonight."

Guard Will Barton came off the bench to score 22 points and was 7-for-7 in free throws and forward Danilo Gallinari added 21 points for Denver.

"I told the guys before the game that we shouldn't have an eight-game losing streak with the talent we have and the game plan the coach puts together," Barton said. "It was great to end the streak and get the monkey off our back and hopefully we can build on it. It was a collective effort. Everybody was aggressive."

Forward Darrell Arthur added 19 points for the Nuggets (7-13), while center Joffrey Lauvergne scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Guard Randy Foye added 12 points for Denver.

Guard DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors (12-8) with 34 points. Guard Kyle Lowry added 16 points and eight assists, while guard Cory Joseph had 15 and forward DeMarre Carroll 10.

"We've got to get a level of play that we decide we're going to play from the start of the game to the end of the game." Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "We can't wait to get out teeth kicked in before we start to play."

The Raptors cut Denver's lead to two points twice in the fourth quarter, but the only time they tied or led was when the game was at 2-2 in the first two minutes of the game.

The Denver lead was three with 11 seconds to play. Foye then made two free throws with 8.8 seconds left for a five-point lead.

Carroll hit a 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left to cut the margin to two points. Barton made two free throws with 2.4 seconds left. Denver was 18-for-18 from the line.

The Nuggets led by as many as 16 points during the first quarter and took a 29-19 lead into the second quarter.

Denver took an 18-point lead with 5:36 left in the second quarter on a layup by center Nikola Jokic. The Raptors whittled the lead to nine on two free throws by center Bismack Biyombo. The Nuggets led 56-42 after the first half.

It was the second game in a row in which the Raptors trailed by 14 at the half. They came back on Wednesday to defeat the Hawks in Atlanta.

"We have to come out with a sense of urgency," DeRozan said. "Not wait until we get down to exert extra energy to get back into the game and win a game. We have to have a conscious effort every single night no matter who we are playing."

Arthur's 3-pointer opened the third quarter, and then the Raptors went on an 11-0 run to trim the lead to six. The Nuggets answered with an 8-0 run.

Gallinari's 3-pointer put the Nuggets into a 16-point lead with 3:16 left in the third, and Denver led 81-71 entering the fourth quarter.

"I thought Gallinari hit some tough shots," Casey said. "We got caught a couple of times on rotations but for most of it he hit some tough shots."

Lowry hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to four, and Joseph's driving layup cut the deficit to 90-88 with 5:23 to play. The Nuggets scored the next six points.

"(The win) was huge just because we've been struggling," said guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who had five points and nine assists. "We weren't getting a lot of turnovers and we were sharing the ball. Any time we play like that we're going to have a good game."

NOTES: Denver F Kenneth Faried (sprained left ankle) did not play Thursday after scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the loss at Chicago on Wednesday. He returned Saturday against Dallas after missing three games with the ankle injury that he aggravated Wednesday. ... G Gary Harris (concussion) missed his fourth straight game. ... Toronto F James Johnson (left Achilles tendon), who did not play in the win over the Hawks on Wednesday, was available off the bench. ... Nuggets coach Michael Malone is the son of Brendan Malone, the first coach of the Raptors. ... The Raptors' next game is Saturday at home against the Golden State Warriors. The Nuggets visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday to end a five-game trip.