The Toronto Raptors have fallen just short against the Utah Jazz on a Friday night matchup in Tampa, final score 115–112.
Pascal Siakam had a chance to tie the game at 115 in the dying seconds with a great look from 3-point land, his shot rimming halfway in and back out. It was quite understandable however why the Toronto players wanted the ball in the Cameroonian’s hands given that he tallied 27 points, a team high. All Toronto starters finished with 14 points or more on Friday night despite the loss.
This was a must-win for both clubs, Toronto having lost their previous six in a row and Utah, despite holding the best record in the NBA, having conceded five out of their last eight. Donovan Mitchell, as he so often does, came up big in the important dub for the Jazz and dropped 31 points, including an impressive 15 from the charity stripe on 16 attempts.
Frenchman Rudy Gobert got his usual double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds, while Joe Ingles gave a huge boost off of the bench with 19, including 5/6 from beyond the arc.
In the ultimate act, when it mattered most, Quin Snyder’s team scored 36 in one quarter and managed to get to the line 41 times tonight, compared to Nick Nurse’s squad’s 14 tries. A quite sensational difference which Nurse did not forget to vehemently complain about to the officials once the final buzzer sounded.
The return of OG Anunoby to the starting lineup certainly helped lift every Raptors fan’s spirits up. Notwithstanding, Toronto had to once more deal with a true lack of contribution from the bench. Despite Chris Boucher’s 16 points, the entirety of the rest of the replacements scored a combined 6 points against the Jazz.
Kyle Lowry and his battalion travel to Cleveland next to face off against the Cavaliers on Sunday night at 7:00 pm. EST. Once more, they will be looking for an absolutely vital win back from having conceded seven on the bounce.
Written by Thomas Debost
