The Toronto Raptors held the the NBA's highest-scoring team under 100 points, but still came out on the low end of the score.
Carlos Boozer poured in 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, as the visiting Utah Jazz held on for a 92-88 victory over the Raptors before a crowd of 17,337 at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday.
Deron Williams drives between Rasho Nesterovic (12) and Jamario Moon.
(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
"Some games are going to be difficult and, today, was definitely difficult," Boozer said. "They did a good job of getting to us.
"We did a good job of getting to them, obviously. And we did enough to win."
Utah has won five straight games and nine of 12 over Toronto.
"You take any win you can," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said. "People don't realize how difficult it is to win."
Deron Williams tallied 22 points, Mehmet Okur had 13 points, and Ronnie Brewer 12 points for the Jazz (7-2), who had eclipsed the 100-point plateau in each of their past four tilts — all wins.
"We were not as crisp as we usually are offensively," Williams said. "A lot of it has to do with their defence.
"They are a solid defensive team. They pressure you, they make you work."
"I don't think we played good tonight," Okur said. "But we won the game and, on the road, I will take that."
Andrei Kirilenko was terrific as he doled out a game-high 11 assists, grabbed nine rebounds, and scored five points with five steals.
"I cannot say enough about AK right now," Boozer said. "He is scoring, rebounding, getting assists, getting steals.
"He is everywhere. Even if he is not scoring, you know he is doing other stuff that helps us win."
Anthony Parker scored 19 points to lead the sloppy-shooting Raptors (4-4), who were coming off an impressive 30-point victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Rookie Jamario Moon contributed 15 points, followed by Chris Bosh with 14 points and seven rebounds.
T.J. Ford finished with 13 points as Toronto shot a pedestrian 38.5 per cent (35-91) from the floor.
"We just didn't shoot the ball well," Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell said. "For the most part, I thought we got good looks."
"We just have to keep shooting, keep shooting, keep shooting," figured Bosh, who went 5-for-12. "It's nothing we haven't seen before.
"We have been through episodes where guys cannot make shots or, as a team, we are just in a funk from the field.
"But you know what? We just have to keep going, that's all I can say."
Several Raptors struggled mightily, notably Andrea Bargnani, who shot a woeful 1-11, and Jose Calderon, who had no assists in 16 minutes off the bench.
"Andrea needs to worry about the other things — rebounding, playing defence, running on the break," Mitchell said. "Then, the shots will come.
"If you come into a basketball game looking to score, you are going to struggle sometimes. Don't even think about scoring."
Although Kris Humphries equalled Boozer's 14 rebounds, Rasho Nesterovic sustained a sprained right ankle in the third quarter and did not return.
Joey Graham was scratched from the lineup with a strained left quadriceps.
Bosh sparks Raptors rally
Bosh, held to six points through 42 minutes, tried to spark the Raptors with two free throws and a slick finger roll that cut Utah's lead to 77-71 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Parker closed the gap to 77-74 with a three-point basket, only to watch Okur respond with a trey of his own.
Parker replied with a pullup jumper that trimmed it to 80-76, but Brewer increased Utah's advantage to seven points on a free throw and a layup.
After Moon's three-pointer kept the Raptors within striking distance, Kirilenko drained two free throws to make it 85-79 with 2:52 left.
Bosh then tried to key a comeback, driving by Boozer for a two-handed dunk, nailing a nifty turnaround hook and slamming down an uncontested jam to slice it to 87-85 with 45 seconds remaining.
Boozer dropped in a baby hook to put the Jazz up four points, but Ford's three-pointer cut it to 89-88 with 18 seconds to go.
Williams and Boozer provided a little breathing room by combining for three free throws, and three-point attempts by Ford and Kapono rang off the rim to seal the win for Utah.
With files from the Canadian PressRelated
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