Field Level Media
Jan 26, 2018
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points while Rudy Gobert chipped in 18 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 97-93 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night at the Air Canada Centre.
Ricky Rubio added 14 points, six rebounds and six assists. Rubio's final basket turned out to be a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds left. DeMar DeRozan had a look from mid-range on the other end, but it missed.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 28 points and DeRozan added 19 to lead Toronto. Utah rallied late in the fourth quarter after shooting 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) from 3-point range.
The Jazz used a 14-2 run to stake out a 24-14 lead in the first quarter. Joe Ingles and Derrick Favors each had a pair of baskets to propel Utah to its first double-digit lead.
Toronto rallied in the second quarter behind hot shooting from Valanciunas. He hit four baskets - culminating in a driving dunk - to ignite a 14-3 run to close out the quarter. It helped the Raptors take a 48-45 halftime lead.
Toronto smothered Utah defensively as the second quarter progressed. The Raptors limited the Jazz to a single field goal over the final 5:52 of the first half.
That defensive momentum carried over through the start of the third quarter. Toronto scored on its first four possessions of the quarter, culminating in a jumper from Serge Ibaka. The Raptors used that 9-0 run to extend their lead to 57-45.
Utah's offense finally came back to life as the third quarter progressed. The Jazz tied it up three times late in the quarter, before finally taking the lead on a free throw from Mitchell. He knocked down a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to fuel an 8-0 run. Joe Johnson capped off the run with a jumper that put Utah up 75-67.
Toronto clamped down on defense again in the fourth quarter. The Raptors held the Jazz to a single field goal over a five-minute stretch. They took over the lead again on a 3-pointer from C.J. Miles. Valanciunas added back-to-back baskets to help Toronto go ahead 91-85 with 2:24 remaining.
Utah closed to within a point in the final minute after Favors and Ingles scored back-to-back baskets and Mitchell buried a pair of free throws.
--Field Level Media