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SALT LAKE CITY — The Toronto Raptors wore green uniforms last night in honour of St. Patrick's Day. And they ended their NBA road trip like a rowdy St. Patty's bar clears out at the end of the night.
In other words, not without a donnybrook.
The Raptors discovered it's not easy wearing green, nor winning at the EnergySolutions Arena, during a 96-79 loss to the Utah Jazz. The Raptors completed their road trip through the Western Conference without a win and also extended their season-long losing streak to five games.
Toronto is now just one game above .500 — at 34-33 — for the first time since Jan. 4.
Raptors forward Jason Kapono goes to the basket against Utah Jazz forward Kyle Korver. (Douglas C. Pizac/AP)
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- Los Angeles Lakers
- Toronto Raptors
- Utah Jazz
- Carlos Boozer
- Chris Bosh
- Jose Calderon
- Jason Kapono
- Kyle Korver
- Mehmet Okur
- Ronnie Price
- Deron Williams
"Our guys got a little frustrated because we've been trying hard to win games and it didn't happen for us on this trip," head coach Sam Mitchell said. "All of our players were frustrated."
Raptors forward Andrea Bargnani took a friendly-fire blow to the nose late in the third quarter, while guard T.J. Ford was so intent on berating an official he had to be held back by friends.
After digging out from a 14-point hole to forge a 65-65 tie after three quarters, Toronto surrendered a 12-2 run to begin the fourth, then lost Bargnani and Ford in quick succession.
Ford was ejected midway through the quarter after being called for an offensive foul and going berserk. Despite being restrained by two teammates and an assistant coach, Ford kept moving toward, and hollering at, official Marc Davis and received two technical fouls.
"It was just frustration," Ford said. "The game was tied and they were able to take over momentum. We kept trying to fight and fight, but the game wasn't going our way. Tonight, I felt I got fouled a couple of times, but the refs thought otherwise.
"It's definitely been a long, tough road trip and it definitely took its toll."
At that point, with seven minutes remaining, Toronto trailed 79-69. Less than 90 seconds later, the Raptors trailed 89-69.
Bargnani went to the locker room early in the fourth quarter with squinted eyes and swabs stuck in both nostrils after taking an elbow from teammate Jamario Moon late in the third. He was taken for X-rays, which came back negative, and his status for Toronto's next game is undetermined.
"Andrea coming out of the game really changed the way we had to play," Mitchell said.
The Jazz won for the 19th consecutive time at home, tying a club record it had set twice before, in 1996 and 1990. Utah is an NBA-best 29-3 at home.
The only saving grace for Toronto was that it remained in fifth place in the Eastern Conference courtesy of the Washington Wizards' loss to the Atlanta Hawks last night.
All-star forward Chris Bosh missed his 10th consecutive game with a sore right knee and the Raptors have gone 2-8 in his absence. Bosh is targeting a return tomorrow for a home game against the Miami Heat.
Utah's Deron Williams led all scorers with 21 points. Jose Calderon had 16 for Toronto, and Rasho Nesterovic notched his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
At halftime, the Jazz led 47-38 thanks to a 31-point second quarter in which they made 13 of 19 field-goal attempts.
The teams were tied 16-16 after the first quarter, a moral victory for the visitors given that, during this swing, they had been giving up huge amounts of points in the opening period.
The Raptors made just six of 22 shots, while the Jazz connected on a measly six of 16. Even the free-throw shooting was terrible, as the clubs combined to go 50 per cent (7-for-14).
"That first quarter was pretty to us because we were still in the basketball game," Mitchell said.
