Lowry leads Raptors to win in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY -- Kyle Lowry scored 24 of his season-high 36 points in the second half to lift the Toronto Raptors to a 104-98 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
DeMar DeRozan added 24 points and Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors. Toronto (21-8) won a franchise record sixth straight road game by shooting 43-of-81 from the field. Lowry by himself went 15-of-20 from the floor.
Gordon Hayward scored 23 points to lead Utah and Trey Lyles chipped in 19 points off the bench. Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 14 rebounds for his 10th consecutive double-double. It wasn't enough to help the Jazz (18-13) avoid losing their third straight game.
Utah got a big boost from its backcourt in the first quarter. Ingles and Mack combined for 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the quarter. As a team, the Jazz shot 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) from the floor in the first quarter. It helped Utah keep pace with Toronto's equally hot shooting. The Raptors went 12-of-20 (60 percent) from the field. DeRozan set the pace with several early baskets.
Ingles gave the Jazz their largest lead of the first quarter. He buried a 3-pointer and then hit three free throws a possession later to put Utah up 27-22.
Toronto answered with 3-pointers from Patrick Patterson and Terence Ross in the final minute of the quarter to cut the deficit to one. The Raptors then surged back in front during the second quarter. Jonas Valanciunas capped an 8-0 run with a layup to give Toronto a 38-33 lead.
The Raptors extended their advantage to 47-38 with 4:53 left before halftime on back-to-back baskets from Lowry. He drained a 3-pointer and then scored a layup after Lucas Nogueira picked Gobert's pocket on a rebound.
Lowry hit back-to-back baskets again to ignite another 8-0 run early in the third quarter. DeRozan capped it with a jumper and a free throw to give Toronto a 64-53 lead.
Lyles shot Utah back into the game near the end of the quarter. He attacked from everywhere and scored a pair of 3-pointers and a dunk to fuel a 17-5 run. It helped the Jazz hold a 74-72 edge entering the fourth quarter.
Toronto surged back ahead for good on the strength of a 13-4 run. Back-to-back baskets from Lowry followed by a layup from Valanciunas sparked the run. Lowry and DeRozan each scored a short jumper to finish it off, giving the Raptors a 96-88 lead with 3:54 left.
NOTES: G Dante Exum missed his second straight game with left knee tendinitis. Utah announced his status will be evaluated again in a week. ... Entering Friday, DeMar DeRozan needed just 59 points to pass Chris Bosh (10,275 points) as Toronto's career scoring leader. DeRozan is averaging a career-high 27.9 points through his first 28 games this season. ... G Shelvin Mack averaged 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists in the month of December entering Friday's game. ... The Raptors won their previous five road games by an average margin of 13.0 points. Toronto has the third best road winning percentage in the NBA, trailing only San Antonio and Golden State.