Okur, Boozer lead Jazz over Raptors

Deron Williams tallied 16 points and dished out eight assists for the Jazz, who have won two straight following a four-game slide. Derek Fisher ended with 10 points, while Jarron Collins donated eight points off the bench.

Chris Bosh scored a game-high 29 points to go along with 11 rebounds, as Toronto lost for just the second time in its last six contests. Jose Calderon ended the night with 16 points, while Anthony Parker scored 14. Andrea Bargnani was the final player in double figures, netting 1 points in a losing cause.

Bosh was on fire in the early going, boosting the Raptors to a 28-26 lead after the first quarter. The dynamic forward poured in 14 points in the front 12 minutes, going 4-of-6 from the hardwood and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

Utah kept pace on the scoreboard, even though foul trouble put Boozer on the bench less than two minutes into the contest. He was replaced by Paul Millsap, who was a non-factor in the offense, scoring just two points in the first.

The Jazz forged ahead in the second stanza, taking a 47-44 lead on Williams’ trey at 5:10. Bosh followed with a layup for Toronto, but Boozer came right back with a short jumper at the other end, his 11th point of the quarter.

The see-saw battle continued on both sides until Utah opened a five-point margin, 55-50, with 2:04 remaining until intermission.

Bosh hit a running jumper for the Raptors to close within three, but Fisher and Williams each followed with a shot from the charity stripe, as the Jazz owned a 57-52 edge at halftime.

Toronto shot at a 53 percent (21-of-40) clip in the first half, while Utah hit 50 percent (20-of-43) of its shots.

Boozer’s fade away keyed a 14-5 run for the Jazz to open the third quarter. Okur capped the spurt with a turnaround jumper, as Utah held a 71-59 lead at 4:38.

The Raptors pulled within six on Calderon’s driving layup with 38 ticks remaining, but Okur was wide open at the other end, draining a three-point shot from well beyond the arc as the Jazz led 80-71 heading into the fourth.

A reversal of fortunes played out in the final quarter, as the suddenly hot Raptors’ offense pulled within 90-87 with just over five minutes remaining in the contest.

Utah, however, pulled away down the stretch. Andre Kirilenko and Boozer sandwiched a Bosh free throw with a couple of layups, while Parker fired back with a fade away for the Raptors to make it 94-90.

Okur hit a pair from the free throw line, and Boozer again chipped in with a layup after Bosh hit one of his own for the Raptors.

Harpring’s driving dunk opened the Utah margin to eight, 100-92, with just 51 seconds to play, while Toronto hit just one more shot from the floor before the final buzzer.

Game Notes

Boozer’s 19 rebounds tied his season high. He also had 19 boards on November 1st against the Houston Rockets...Toronto is 11-7 as the host this season...Utah won the season series 2-0. They have now won four straight against the Raptors and 15 of the last 22 meetings between these teams...The Raptors are 4-19 when they trail after three quarters.