Kris Dunn Drives To Rim, Dunks On Toronto Raptors Defense

SALT LAKE CITY – Early in the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz guard Kris Dunn drove into the paint and threw down a tough two-hand dunk.

Dunn played great in the first quarter for Utah. In addition to his two points, he added three rebounds, an assist, and a block.

it’s about dunnk time 🕒 pic.twitter.com/2wMPNrEsTK

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 13, 2024

Dunn has been a major catalyst for the Jazz in their recent run of good form.

Once he was inserted into the starting lineup, Dunn addressed some of Utah’s shortcomings with great defense and playmaking.

Everything has seemed to work out as former starters Jordan Clarkson and Keyonte George have thrived in their bench roles.

🅺🅳 and the 🅳 is for 🅳efense#TakeNote | @krisdunn3 pic.twitter.com/nHu45aOu5g

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 13, 2024

Over the past 11 games, the Utah Jazz have gone 9-2 and have the fourth-best defense in the NBA.

Dunn has been a big reason for the Jazz’s improvements on that end.

Jazz Seek First Four-Game Win Streak Against Raptors

The Jazz will face the Raptors amid one of the more unforeseen stretches in franchise history.

After opening the season with a 7-16 record the Jazz have rapidly re-entered the Western Conference playoff picture well before the All-Star break in February.

There have been 524 instances in NBA regular-season history of a team facing an opponent with a .650+ win pct (min. 30 games played) in 3 consecutive games.

The @utahjazz are the only ones to win all 3 by double digits (beat 76ers by 11, Bucks by 16 & Nuggets by 13). pic.twitter.com/cp4npjyZsf

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) January 11, 2024

The Jazz sit a half-game back of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets for the ninth and tenth seeds in the West, and one full game back of the Phoenix Suns for the eighth seed.

The Jazz have three separate three-game winning streaks this season but have been unable to record a fourth consecutive win.

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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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