Credit the Nuggets’ win over the Raptors on Monday to the Booth Boys.

With Jamal Murray out with a concussion, Aaron Gordon exiting the game in the first 5 minutes with a calf injury and Russell Westbrook playing heavy minutes in Murray’s absence, Michael Malone used Christian Braun, Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther — the first three players selected by Calvin Booth as first-round draft picks. The trio came up big in clutch moments alongside Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokic.

“I’m saying to myself ‘Holy (crap) … I never envisioned this lineup being out there to close the game,’” Malone said after Denver’s 121-119 win.

Braun was Booth’s first draft pick with the 21st overall pick in the 2022 draft. Watson was selected nine picks after Braun. Strawther was the 29th pick in the 2023 draft. Booth has bet on his young core’s ability to step into larger roles as the team has been unable, or uninterested, in retaining more experienced players on larger contracts.

“Me, ‘P’ and ‘CB’ have obviously been a talking point going into the year,” Strawther said after in the locker room. “I’m just happy that we had the opportunity to make plays down the stretch. It’s no surprise to me that we were able to make those plays. I’m super proud of how the guys handled the late-game (situation).”

Denver trailed by 11 points in the final 6 minutes. Watson jumpstarted the comeback with a three-point play that made it a six-point game with more than 5 minutes to play. He recorded his second block and second steal in the next couple of minutes and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final two minutes.

“It felt like a reward for all my hard work. Just because the shots haven’t been going in doesn’t mean I haven’t been working at it endlessly. That’s something that I come in late and do, come in early before practice and do. It’s something that I know that I need to put an emphasis on to get better,” Watson said after finishing with 16 points and three rebounds to go with the pair of steals and blocks.

It was his best game of the season after a hamstring issue forced him to miss the entirety of the preseason.

“I knew that it was coming. I’m not surprised by it all,” the 22-year-old said. “It was just a matter of when. I’m glad that I’ve been able to kind of gain some rhythm after being out for a little bit. I’m getting my legs back.”

Strawther contributed a couple of free throws that made it a two-point game with just under 4 minutes to go and came up with a steal on the defensive possession before Watson’s clutch 3. After Ochai Agbaji flipped the lead back in Toronto’s favor, Strawther went high off the glass to bank in a driving layup that gave the Nuggets the lead for good with 1 minute, 9 seconds, on the clock.

“That’s what I love about Julian. He can knock down the 3, but he’s not just going to settle,” Malone said. “He was putting his head down, getting to the rim and he’s a really good finisher at the rim.”

Strawther split a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to finish with 13 points, three assists, two rebounds, one steal and one block. After missing the front end, Strawther sunk the second free throw to put the Nuggets up two. He got subbed out for the final defensive possession and tensely watched as RJ Barrett’s look at a game-winning 3 came as close to going down as it gets.

“Being the guy that was on the line and didn’t make both, gut-wrenching moment watching the ball bounce on the basket like that, but the basketball gods were on our side today,” Strawther said. “We got a win. It doesn’t matter how we did it.”

Braun, now a regular starter, was the least-surprising closer of the trio. He’s excelled as a member of Denver’s new starting unit, scoring in double figures and shooting 43% or better in all seven of Denver’s games to start the season after recording 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with four rebounds and a steal against Toronto.

“Just play like this the whole season,” Jokic answered when asked what more Braun could do moving forward. “Consistency in this league, I think it’s a something that people don’t really think about, but I think it’s the most important thing in the league.”

The third-year wing remained steady as ever in the clutch. After the Nuggets fell behind by five with under 3 minutes to play, Jokic kicked the ball out to Braun, who buried a 3-pointer from the corner to bring the Nuggets within two. He stole the ball from fellow Kansas Jayhawk Gradey Dick, who led the Raptors with 26 points, with under 1 minute to go to protect Denver’s one-point lead.

“All of us play so confidently even despite our age,” Watson said. “It was good to be out there with those guys and get a win.”

That trio could be in for more clutch moments when the Nuggets host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. Malone made it sound like Murray would miss at least one more game before returning, while it was too early to say whether Gordon would be available for Denver’s second early-season meeting with the Western Conference’s last undefeated team.

Whether it’s immediately or in years to come, Booth’s first draft picks will be crucial to keeping Denver’s window to win a second championship open. Knowing that’s the case, Watson offered a different nickname for Denver’s last three first-round picks.

“Talk about the epitome of ‘Project Dynasty,’” Watson said of the group’s showing Monday.

“Obviously, me and CB came in together, and that’s my road dog, but also adding Julian to our young core, it meant a lot to us. That was just kind of a little preview of what’s to come for us.”