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SALT LAKE CITY — The Toronto Raptors are one of the NBA’s upstart teams.
After suffering through years of below-average play, the Raptors made it to the second round of the playoffs last season, and came into a Wednesday meeting with the Utah Jazz at 14-4.
Last season, the Raptors swept the Jazz for the first time ever, picking up a 94-79 road win in Salt Lake last season. The first meeting between the teams proved to be déjà vu all over again, as Toronto finished off a three-game road trip with a 123-104 win over the Jazz.
The Raptors made 12 3-point shots in the game, finishing with a shooting percentage of 57.1 percent behind the arc. Toronto guard Kyle Lowry made 4-of-5 shots from long distance, scoring 39 points.
Snyder said Toronto’s ability to make shots from distance is what makes them an elite team.
“These guys don’t feel you if you’re in the area; you’ve got to impact the ball,” he said. “Lowry was very, very difficult to guard. When one guy has it going that much, it makes it difficult on everybody else.
"I've said from the beginning that we can't fixate on our record," said Jazz coach Quin Snyder. "Certainly, you'd like for it to be different, but it's reflective of where we are right now. There's not magic pill.
“It’s hard when you’re trying to play against a team that’s as good as they are offensively, and we needed to compete harder.”
One of the game’s interesting subplots featured a battle of recent lottery picks. Jazz center Enes Kanter spent much of the night matched up against Jonas Valanciunas, who was drafted by Toronto with the fourth pick in the 2011 NBA draft. Utah selected Kanter third in that same 2011 draft.
Kanter, who scored 19 points, said facing Valanciunas, who scored nine points, has been a struggle since the two faced off as juniors in Europe.
“I’m tired of playing him,” said Kanter. “He’s just big and long. I respect him a lot; he’s a really good player. He’s a skilled player.”
Monday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets was characterized by a hard foul that sent Jazz guard Alec Burks to the ground and out of the Utah lineup. The Toronto game featured a similar foul in the first quarter, as Jazz center Rudy Gobert undercut Toronto forward Tyler Hansbrough.
Gobert was called for a flagrant foul after the exchange, and Toronto went on a 5-0 run to end the first quarter.
Snyder said Toronto improved its performance after the foul.
“Those things are part of the game,” he said. “When a team raises their level, you have to meet their level. There were times tonight where they did that, and we weren’t able to play at that level.”
Burks didn’t play against Toronto, and has been ruled out when the Jazz host Orlando on Friday because of shoulder inflammation.
With the losses mounting for Utah, the Jazz are looking to avoid the doldrums they spent parts of last season mired in.
Snyder said the Jazz need to maintain positivity, in spite of a 5-14 record.
“I’ve said from the beginning that we can’t fixate on our record,” he said. “Certainly, you’d like for it to be different, but it’s reflective of where we are right now. There’s no magic pill.
“We’re a young team — our average starting lineup tonight was 23 years old. We’ve got 23-year-olds out there trying to learn, and trying to get better. I don’t want them to get down. I want them to want to get better, but I don’t want them to be despondent about their record.”
