Toronto @ Utah preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2017 ) Utah 93, Toronto 101

The Utah Jazz will try to stay perfect at home when they wrap up a four-game homestand against the Toronto Raptors on Friday. The Jazz outlasted Portland in overtime 112-103 on Wednesday to improve to 5-0 at Vivint Smart Home Arena, the best home record in the NBA and the franchise's best start at home since 2012.

Ricky Rubio has settled in well in Utah and the veteran point guard provided a season-high 30 points against the Trail Blazers to raise his average to a team-high 17.5. The Raptors are 2-3 on their six-game road trip after falling 129-111 at Denver on Wednesday, which came on the heels of back-to-back wins in which they held opponents to an average of 88.5 points. "That was an embarrassing performance by all of us, from coaches to players," coach Dwane Casey told reporters in Denver. "One thing we said: You've got to come in here and compete and play hard, play a physical game, and we didn't do either one on either end of the floor." Toronto will try to get back into the groove defensively against a team that it held to an average of 95.5 points in sweeping two meetings a season ago.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet ONE (Toronto), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (4-3): Norman Powell was Toronto's leading scorer against Denver with just 14 points, as the backcourt due of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry combined for 19. "The starting unit did not play well," Lowry told the media. "We didn’t start the game out the way we should have started the game out. I put a lot of blame on myself as a leader and we got to come out better than that." Lowry is averaging 12.9 points on 37.2 percent shooting after producing 22.4 on 46.4 percent a season ago.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (5-3): Rookie guard Donovan Mitchell posted a personal-best 28 points against Portland and topped the 20-point mark in two of his last three contests. "I didn't think it would happen this fast," Mitchell told reporters. "It was definitely surreal. Plays ran for me, just a matter of hitting the shots." Mitchell's surge placed him among six Jazz players averaging in double figures, although fellow guard Rodney Hood (14.3) was benched down the stretch in Wednesday's win amid an 0-for-11 shooting night.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Raptors are shooting 30.7 percent from beyond the arc, worst in the Eastern Conference entering Thursday.

2. Rubio is averaging 23.7 points while making 11-of-21 3-pointers over the last three games.

3. Toronto C Jonas Valanciunas (ankle) returned from a four-game absence Wednesday and made all four of his shot attempts in 14 minutes.

PREDICTION: Jazz 107, Raptors 102