Field Level Media
Mar 19, 2021
Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points, including a go-ahead pull-up jumper with 29.1 seconds left, to lead the Utah Jazz to a 115-112 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night in Tampa.
Mitchell shot 15 of 16 from the free-throw line for the Jazz. He scored all eight points in an 8-0 run that put Utah up 113-110 with 12.4 seconds left. Pascal Siakam barely missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.
Joe Ingles added 19 points and Mike Conley chipped in 15 for the Jazz. Rudy Gobert also tallied 15 points and added 16 rebounds while playing with a hip contusion. Utah (30-11) became the first NBA team to reach 30 wins this season.
Siakam had 27 points and nine assists to lead the Raptors. Fred VanVleet added 17 points and nine assists, and Kyle Lowry chipped in 14 points and eight assists. Toronto lost its seventh straight game.
Conley returned to action after sitting out against Washington on Friday. It did not help Utah avoid another slow start on offense.
The Jazz shot just 30.4 percent from the field in the first quarter after missing nine of ten shots over a five-minute stretch during the quarter.
Their sluggish shooting opened the door for the Raptors to stake out an 18-12 lead behind an 11-5 run fueled by a pair of 3-pointers from Lowry and one each from OG Anunoby and Norman Powell.
The Jazz trailed until Ingles sank back-to-back threes to tie it up at 38-38 in the second quarter. Utah did not go ahead, however, until Mitchell hit three go-ahead free throws and stole the ball on three straight possessions to fuel a 13-2 run that put the Jazz up 55-51.
Chris Boucher bookended a run of baskets on three straight possessions that gave Toronto an 84-82 lead in the fourth quarter.
The Jazz then scored on six consecutive baskets to pull ahead of the Raptors. Conley assisted on three straight baskets to fuel the run, and Gobert finished it off with back-to-back baskets, giving Utah a 94-84 lead.
Toronto surged back ahead late in the fourth quarter. Powell and Lowry drained back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Raptors ahead 110-105.
--Field Level Media