Raptors Can’t Claw Back



November 14, 2007

TORONTO -- Rookie Jamario Moon and utility player Kris Humphries were the two bright spots on an otherwise ugly night for the Toronto Raptors.

And that says plenty about the Raptors' performance in a 92-88 loss to the red-hot Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

With the Raptors' shooting continuing to run cold, and big men Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani having off nights, Moon scored 15 points and played a team-high 33 minutes, while Humphries grabbed 14 rebounds against his former team.

``We've got to have more people than those two young guys,'' Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said afterwards. ``We count on them to give us energy, and give us minutes, but not to win us basketball games.''

Anthony Parker scored 19 points to top Toronto (4-4).

Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Jazz (7-2) to their fifth straight victory, while Deron Williams added 22 points.

While the Jazz boasts the best offence in the league _ they came into the game averaging 111.9 points a night _ the visitors led by a low-scoring 64-59 heading into the fourth quarter of an ugly affair for both teams Wednesday.

``You take any win you can,'' Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. ``People don't realize how difficult it is to win.''

The Jazz led by as much as seven points in the final few minutes before six straight points from Bosh _ including two big dunks _ cut Utah's lead to 87-85 with 46 seconds on the clock.

A three-pointer by T.J. Ford with 18 seconds left pulled Toronto to within 89-88. But Williams connected on a pair of free throws, and Ford couldn't get a decent shot off in the final few seconds, sending the Raptors to their third loss at home this season. Toronto is 3-1 on the road.

``Eventually we want to get a roll at home and start doing a better job of protecting our home court,'' said Bosh, who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Ford finished with 13 points and eight assists.

The game wasn't pretty with the Raptors committing numerous mind-numbing turnovers _ 17 giveaways that cost them 10 points _ drawing groans from the Air Canada Centre crowd of 17,337.

The Raptors outrebounded the Jazz 50-46. But once again, they had trouble shooting, connecting on just 39 per cent of their shots. Utah shot 43 per cent.

``It's nothing we haven't seen before,'' said Bosh. ``We've been through episodes where guys can't make shots, or as a team we're just in a funk from the field. But you know what? We just have to keep going. That's all I can say.''

Until the final few minutes, Bosh hadn't had one of his better nights, shooting just 5-for-12 from the field. His frontcourt partner Andrea Bargnani had a horrible night, chucking up 11 shots and making just one to finish with two points and three boards.

``Andrea needs to worry about the other things _ rebounding, playing defence, running on the break _ and then the shots will come,'' Mitchell said. ``If you come into a basketball game looking to score, you're going to struggle sometimes. Don't even think about scoring.''

Moon had a strong night in just his second start of his career, but shrugged off his performance.

``We lost, so it wasn't too good,'' said Moon. ``After a loss, you don't really think about what you did, you think of the things you could have done to make a different outcome of the game.''

The 27-year-old high-flying rookie has been one of the feel-good stories on the Raptors' young season, earning a spot on Toronto's roster after toiling for several teams in the minor leagues, including the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association.

Humphries put in a solid 27 minutes, diving to the floor for numerous loose balls.

Rasho Nesterovic had eight rebounds in 20 minutes, leaving the game with a sprained right ankle midway through the third quarter.

The Jazz was playing without Matt Harpring (flu bug).

The Raptors were coming off a two-game road trip, beating the Bulls 101-71 Saturday in Chicago, and winning 105-103 in Philadelphia the previous night.

Parker led the way with 10 points in the first quarter as Toronto raced out to a seven-point lead. The Raptors were up 22-18 to end the first.

The Raptors' shooting dropped off in the second quarter _ they shot just 5-for-22. Toronto trailed as much as seven in the quarter and Utah had a 39-36 lead at the break.

The Raptors fought back in the third, a bank shot from Parker with four minutes left in the quarter giving them a three-point lead. The Jazz responded with a 10-1 run to end the quarter.

NOTES: The game was the Raptors' first of three straight at home. The Raptors host Indiana on Friday and Golden State on Sunday. . . Toronto FC coach Mo Johnston had a courtside seat.