The Toronto Raptors and the Utah Jazz are two teams going in decidedly different directions.
Deron Williams scored 25 points and added nine assists and Kyle Korver had 20 points and eight rebounds off the bench as the surging Jazz won their 11th straight game with a 109-101 victory over the slumping Raptors at the Air Canada Centre yesterday afternoon. Chris Bosh led the Raptors (23-41) with 30 points and 10 rebounds, as Toronto lost its fifth straight and saw its record at home sag to a dismal 12-18.
"I'm just looking at the next game. I don't care to define a loss anymore," Bosh said. "They are the best team in the league right now, but it really doesn't matter who we play, we are trying to win games."
The victory helped the Jazz (40-23) match their longest win streak in 10 seasons and pull even with the Denver Nuggets atop the Northwest Division standings. The Jazz, who were playing without the injured Carlos Boozer, out with a sprained right ankle, last went on an 11-game run from April 1-18, 1999.
Andrea Bargnani had 20 points and eight rebounds and Anthony Parker had 16 points and seven assists for the Raptors. Jose Calderon, who struggled in the Raptors' 108-102 loss to the Miami Heat on Friday night, and wasn't even on the floor as Toronto tried to mount a fourth-quarter comeback, dished out 11 assists and 10 points.
New acquisition Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who came off the bench on Friday night to chip in a game- and career-high 10 rebounds, added some energy and had seven rebounds in 10 minutes of play yesterday.
Mehmet Okur had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Paul Millsap had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Andrei Kirilenko added 18 points for the Jazz.
The Raptors stayed close and went into the fourth quarter with a 87-81 lead on the back of Bosh's 15-point third quarter performance. It could have gone either way -- there were 22 lead changes in the game -- until about midway through the fourth when the Jazz started chipping away at the lead and eventually outscored the Raptors 28-14 in the period.
But the crowd of 18,541 liked what it saw, rising to its feet to applaud the fight of several Raptors as they ferociously scrambled for a loose ball. An ensuing jump ball went to the Jazz and Kirilenko's driving layup put them up 94-93 at 6:31. It was a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"We couldn't get the stops when we needed to," said Shawn Marion, who finished up with eight points. "We were doing everything we needed to keep control of this game. Once we got the lead, everything went out the window.
"In order for us to sustain what we were doing, I think we need to be aggressive at both ends and we stopped doing it."
