NBA: Jazz end 3-game skid by coming back to defeat Raptors
FILE–Lauri Markkanen #23 high fives Talen Horton-Tucker #0 of the Utah Jazz. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
Walker Kessler and Lauri Markkanen each scored 23 points and the visiting Utah Jazz overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Toronto Raptors 122-116 on Friday night.
Markkanen also posted nine rebounds and five assists, and Collin Sexton added 22 points for the Jazz, who ended a three-game losing streak.
Pascal Siakam scored 35 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Raptors, who had their three-game winning streak end.
Kelly Olynyk added 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Rudy Gay had 12 points for the Jazz, who took both games with the Raptors this season.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points for the Raptors in the second game of a five-game homestand. Fred VanVleet added 17 points, Precious Achiuwa scored 16 and Scottie Barnes had 12.
🎷 Career-high 23 points
🎷 9 boards, 10-12 from the field
🎷 Clutch buckets down the stretch#JordanRisingStars participant @WalkerKessler13 helps lead the @utahjazz comeback W! pic.twitter.com/tEoROLUmFC— NBA (@NBA) February 11, 2023
Toronto took a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Jazz pulled to within six points on Sexton’s two free throws with 9:17 left in the fourth.
Toronto responded with seven straight points, but Talen Horton-Tucker’s layup cut the lead back to six with 3:39 remaining. It was part of a 14-1 run by the Jazz that tied the game at 112 with 2:34 left.
Markkanen’s hook shot and free throw gave Utah a 115-114 lead, and Sexton extended the margin to three on a layup with 1:35 to go. Barnes and Kessler exchanged baskets, then Sexton made one of two free throws and Utah led by four with 11.3 seconds to play.
The Raptors were ahead by as many as 11 points before finishing the first quarter with a 34-28 lead.
Achiuwa’s 3-pointer gave Toronto a 50-40 lead with 5:10 remaining in the second quarter. The Jazz used a 9-0 spurt to trim the margin to one point with 1:01 remaining. Siakam’s eight-footer completed the first-half scoring and gave Toronto a 61-58 lead.
Trent’s 10-footer and free throw gave Toronto a 77-70 lead with 6:55 left in the third quarter, and the Raptors used a 10-1 run to stretch the margin to 14 with 2:14 to play in the third. Toronto led 96-83 after the third quarter.
Jordan Clarkson (illness) did not play for Utah. O.G. Anunoby (wrist) was out for Toronto.
