With the Raptors trailing the Jazz 82-81 with under five minutes remaining in the fourth, DeMar DeRozan beat Gordon Hayward off the dribble, then exploded to the rim for a ferocious poster jam over Rudy Gobert. He scored 14 for Toronto but was just 6-of-15 from the field as the Raptors lost their third straight game by a final score of 93-89.
It was the second night of a back-to-back for DeRozan and company, following Tuesday’s demoralizing five-point loss to the red-hot Golden State Warriors. They’ll wrap up their current five-game road trip this weekend as they travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Friday night and the Clippers on Sunday afternoon.
The Jazz improved to 6-5 on the season thanks to a balanced effort that included five players scoring in double figures. Derrick Favors led the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and was a game-high plus-16 for the night. Hayward added 17 points and seven rebounds, while Rodney Hood had another solid outing with 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal on 50 percent shooting.
After starting the season playing eight of their first ten games on the road, they’ll finally get some relief as Wednesday marked the start of a stretch during which they play 16 of their next 24 games on their home court in Salt Lake City.
