Toronto Raptors Continued Good Form With Emphatic Win Over Utah Jazz
Kyle Lowry scored 17 points, dished out 11 assists and collected seven rebounds to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 124-111 victory over the host Utah Jazz on Monday night.
Three other Raptors players also scored 17 points – led by Serge Ibaka, who came off the bench to make all eight of his shot attempts before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.
Alec Burks led Utah with 22 points off the bench in his first game back after missing four games with a left-hand chip fracture. Rudy Gobert added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz.
Utah played without Donovan Mitchell (sprained ankle) for the second time in three games. Toronto played with Kawhi Leonard (jammed foot) for the second consecutive game.
The Jazz fell to 0-4 at home for the first time since the 1974-75 season. It is their first four-game losing streak at home since the 2013-14 season.
Without Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors used a balanced team effort to get their fourth consecutive win.
“We have been playing basically position-less basketball,” said Kyle Lowry, who had 17 points and 11 assists to lead four Raptors with 17 points as Toronto beat the Utah Jazz 124-111 on Monday night.
Serge Ibaka, OG Anunoby and Fred VanVleet also had 17 points as the Raptors were bolstered with six players in double figures to win their fourth straight game.
Van Vleet said: “Tonight was how our offense is supposed to be played. As long as we’re making shots, their defense has to respect the shooters and it allows us to play with more freedom out there.”
The match-up lost some luster — and nearly 49 points a game — when Utah’s Donovan Mitchell was ruled out with a left ankle sprain and Toronto’s Leonard sat out with a sore left ankle as well.
But the Raptors didn’t miss a beat and their offensive spacing left the court wide-open for drives.
Van Vleet said: “Nobody likes to play in tight spaces, in congested spaces, so with an offense full of shooters, it’s open and it’s fun out there.”
Ibaka made all eight of his shots and has made 27 of his last 29 attempts. “The guy is hot,” Lowry said of Ibaka, but he could have said it about a half-dozen Raptors. The point guard is certainly finding his shooters and has now posted nine consecutive games with 10 or more assists.
Alec Burks led Utah with 22 points and Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 12 rebounds. After the game, Burks was so disgusted he said he had nothing to say to the media despite his scoring outburst.
The Raptors broke the game open with a 15-3 run that bridged the second and third quarter. The spurt was capped when Danny Green hit a 3-pointer to make it 71-55 for Toronto, which stretched the lead to as many as 26 early in the final period.
The last time the Jazz lost four in a row at home was in the 2013-14 season when they went 25-57.
Joe Ingles said: “The little things that made us so good last year — we haven’t really done any of them to this point.”
The Jazz got to the basket time and again but couldn’t finish as the Raptors challenged them at the 3-point arc. Utah shot 8-of-31 from 3-point range, but that was skewed by the Jazz making three 3’s in garbage time.
Despite a 21-5 deficit in free throw attempts in the first half, the Raptors made eight 3’s and shot 63 percent from the field to lead 65-54 at the break.
The Raptors finish their road trip on Wednesday, in a fixture against against Sacramento Kings.
