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The return of Andrea Bargnani couldn’t have come at a better time for the Toronto Raptors.
Playing for the first time in six games, Bargnani scored 36 points, 27 in the second half, as the Raptors beat the Suns 99-96 Tuesday night in Phoenix.
For the Raptors, it was their first win in their past eight tries, and their first victory in Phoenix since 2004.
“We needed a ‘W’ to keep our confidence, to keep the ship going in the right direction,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey told the Toronto Star after the Raptors win. “We needed a ‘W’ to reinforce what we’re talking about.”
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“He makes everything easier for everybody else,” he said. “He opens up the lane, LB (Leandro Barbosa) could get in the lane for layups, James Johnson could get in the lane and get to the offensive boards. He’s kind of a hub that everybody can play off.”
With Bargnani back, and with two dreadful streaks recently snapped, the Raptors (5-13) are looking snap another tonight when they face the Utah Jazz (10-5) at EnergySolutions Arena. Utah has beaten Toronto 12 straight times, its longest streak against any NBA team. The Raptors have lost to the Jazz six straight times in Salt Lake, their last victory coming in December of 2004.
After a rocky 1-3 start, Utah has gone 9-2 since and has been one of the hottest teams in the league. The Jazz are especially good at home boasting an 8-2 record at EnergySolutions Arena.
The Jazz are coming off a 108-98 win over Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and the Minnesota Timberwolves. In that game, Jazzman Paul Millsap scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to bury the upstart wolves.
Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin is pleased with the way his power forward is continuing to develop.
"We really appreciate all his efforts and the way he just continues to work to get better," Corbin told The Deseret News. "And as a result, we're better because he's so effective on the floor.
The Jazz are better with Millsap on the floor. Millsap has averaged 22 points and nine rebounds in his last seven games. The Jazz are 5-2 in that stretch, their two losses coming in close matchups with the Mavs and Lakers.
Millsap’s frontcourt mate Al Jefferson has been a Raptor killer in recent outings against Toronto. Jefferson dropped 34 on the Raptors the last time the two teams met and has averaged 27.7 points in his last three outings against Toronto.
The game takes place at EnergySolutions Arena at 7 p.m. and can be seen on Root Sports.
Jarrod is a freelance writer who writes Jazz previews for KSL.com. You can follow Jarrod Hiatt on Twitter at @jarrodhiatt.
