The Toronto Raptors are on a west coast trip that is going to get the best of them in Denver if they are tired.

For the best NBA betting odds in the NBA check out Bet Phoenix,, the best sportsbook for betting on basketball.

The Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors both have leading scorers from Italy, but only one of those countrymen will be available Friday night. Danilo Gallinari and the surging Nuggets look for a sixth straight victory when they host a Raptors team that expects to be without Andrea Bargnani.

Denver (13-5) is one of the biggest surprises in the NBA, with Gallinari averaging a career-high 17.7 points. He signed a four-year, $42 million contract extension Wednesday before scoring 21 of his 23 points in the first half of a 122-93 rout at Sacramento later that night.

Bargnani, meanwhile, is averaging 23.5 points for Toronto (6-13). The sixth-year forward, however, reinjured his strained left calf late in Wednesday’s 111-106 double-overtime win at Utah and wasn’t optimistic about when he will be back on the court.

The Raptors ended a 12-game losing streak against the Jazz. Now they will try to end an eight-game slide against the Nuggets, as well as a run of seven straight defeats in Denver.

Denver will return home in a confident mood after the first 5-0 road trip in franchise history. Six other Nuggets besides Gallinari also scored in double figures Wednesday, when Denver posted 92 points in the paint - the most since the NBA began keeping track of the statistic in 2000-01.

The Nuggets lead the league in scoring (106.4 points per game) and assists (24.7 per game). Andre Miller had 10 of Denver’s 29 assists against the Kings.

Lawson wasn’t around to see all of it, however. He left in the second quarter after spraining his left ankle and is expected to miss Friday’s game. He hopes to return Sunday against the Clippers.

Lawson’s absence should help Toronto - the NBA’s second-worst scoring team at 87.5 points per game - slow the pace a bit. They took advantage of Wednesday’s extra sessions to top 100 for the first time in 18 games.

The Raptors will have to give it their all if they hope to end the road swing on a good note by breaking their losing streak against the Nuggets.