By Matt Payne, utahjazz.com
The Utah Jazz fell to the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors 123-104 at EnergySolutions Arena Wednesday night. The loss was the seventh straight for the Jazz.
Recapping this one is pretty easy—Toronto didn’t really miss from the field and the Jazz, despite playing well, just couldn’t keep up. The Raptors entered the game ranked second in the NBA in scoring (at 108.9 points per game) and it showed from the opening tipoff. They hit 64 percent of their shots in the first two quarters (including 8-for-11 on threes) en route to 69 first-half points ... and then scored another 54 in the second half.
“You can take this game as a microcosm (of our season),” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said after the game. “We have possessions where we do a good job and then other possessions where there are breakdowns. I think our guys are trying to play the right way and trying to do the right thing. It’s hard when you play against a team that’s as good as Toronto is offensively. I think we need to compete harder on the defensive end.”
Game Highlights
Here are a few observations and notes from the game:
- This was a fast-paced game—not many fouls (15 on Utah, 16 on Toronto), not many turnovers (eight by Utah, nine by Toronto). Lots and lots of scoring.
- The Raptors didn’t miss a beat without All-Star DeMar DeRozan, who’s out indefinitely with a groin injury. Kyle Lowry scored a career-high 39 points, while Greivis Vasquez, who has stepped into the starting lineup, had 17.
- Alec Burks missed the game with a shoulder injury. He’ll also miss Friday’s home game against the Magic.
- Utah’s starting lineup of Trey Burke, Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors was the fourth-youngest lineup in Jazz history.
- All five Utah starters scored in double figures, with Kanter and Favors leading the way with 19 points each. Favors tied his career high with five assists.
- The Jazz are competitive when their starters are on the court. When their bench comes in ... well, not so much. Really, when you have a lineup featuring Danté Exum, Ian Clark, Joe Ingles, Trevor Booker and Rudy Gobert , who’s going to score the ball? Who’s going to make plays? This isn’t to say that these guys can’t play, or that they won’t be able to make plays eventually—obviously they can, and they will. Exum converted a sweet driving layup while being fouled; Gobert, as usual, was big on D; Booker brings energy and toughness every night. Right now, though, this is not a group that’s going to create many offensive fireworks.
- Gobert had three blocks in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. In 13 minutes, the 7-foot-1 center had six points (on 2-for-2 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line), seven rebounds and three blocks.
- The Jazz have now trailed by at least 17 points in each of the last nine games.
- Kanter is scoring the ball really well right now. His post game is especially strong, and he keeps defenders honest with his mid-range game. He scored 11 points in the first quarter but only eight thereafter.
- Hood finally hit some jumpers, drilling two second-half 3-pointers against the Raptors. The rookie returned from a 10-game absence (due to plantar fasciitis) earlier this week and had gone 2-for-14 from the field up to that point, with his only buckets being layups. The Jazz desperately need his outside shooting to space the floor.
- 3-point shooting swayed heavily toward Toronto—the Raptors went 12-for-21 (57.1 percent) while the Jazz went 8-for-28 (28.6 percent).
- Lots of positives for the Jazz—outscored Toronto 54-46 in the paint, grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, only eight turnovers, allowed only 12 fast-break points, shot the ball well (58 percent on non-threes)—they just couldn’t stop the Raptors.