Jazz Offense Limited By Raptors Defense, Suffer First Loss In Six Games

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz struggled to find a rhythm on offense and fell for the first time in six games to the Toronto Raptors.

The Jazz hosted the 2018-19 NBA champion Raptors at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Monday, March 9.

Despite playing without Fred VanVleet and Marc Gasol, the Raptors were able to limit the Jazz’s ability to find quality shots. Utah finished the game shooting 39.3 percent from the field and suffered a 101-92 loss to Toronto.

Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Bojan Bogdanovic go 7-28 for 22 total points.

Tough finish for the @UtahJazz and their five game winning streak is snapped 101-92. #TakeNote

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 10, 2020

Shutdown Of The Starters

The Raptors outscored or tied the Jazz in every quarter of the game. They also outrebounded the Jazz by 19 boards including eight on the offensive glass.

Utah starting lineup, with the exception of Royce O’Neale who scored 15 points on 6-11 field goals, struggled to shoot the ball efficiently against the length of Toronto’s defenders.

coming 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙪𝙪𝙪𝙪𝙪𝙜𝙝 pic.twitter.com/wtDT1SqPw1

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 10, 2020

The Jazz backcourt of Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell combined to shoot 8-28 on field goals. Conley and Mitchell went 2-15 on shots at the rim or in the midrange. Conley ended the game with 13 points on 4-12 shooting. Mitchell scored 11 points on 4-16 shooting. Mitchell posted a team-low -30 plus-minus rating.

Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic scored 5 points on 2-8 field goals including 1-4 from distance. He recorded a -23 plus-minus rating.

Rudy Gobert recorded 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block in 32 minutes. He posted a -22 plus-minus rating before being ejected late in the fourth quarter after an altercation with Toronto’s OG Anunoby.

Here is video that the officials watched and decided to eject BOTH Rudy Gobert and OG Anunoby. Anunoby throws his elbow at Rudy's chin. I don't see what Rudy did to deserve an ejection. #NBA #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/e7F2Hs4Bh8

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) March 10, 2020

Joe Ingles led Utah with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals off the bench.

Toronto finished the game shooting 43.4 percent overall and 36.1 percent from downtown.

Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka led the Raptors with 27 points apiece. Kyle Lowry poured in 21 points.

Goodnight, Salt Lake. #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/2RTtucjJ34

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 10, 2020

Up Next

Utah’s five-game winning streak ended with the result and the franchise fell to a record of 41-23 on the season. The Jazz now sit at 21-10 at home this season.

pic.twitter.com/PFyR2I1gmO

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 10, 2020

Up next for Utah is a road meeting with divisional rival Oklahoma City. The Jazz and Thunder play on Wednesday, March 11 at 6 p.m (MDT). The game will broadcast on NBA League Pass, AT&T SportsNet, and 97.5 FM.