Raptors 104 – Jazz 98: Kyle is The Man

The Raptors got their road trip off on the right foot with a Lowry-led defeat of a scrappy Utah Jazz team.

A busted lip is all it took to inspire Kyle Lowry on this Friday night. The Toronto Raptors were able to make history winning six straight road games for the first time in franchise history with a 104-98 win over the Utah Jazz at the Vivint Smart Home Arena.

Skip to halftime where the Raptors managed to hold on to a 5-point advantage heading into the half, shooting 57.5% from the field, led by their big 3 in Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas combining for 38 points on 15-23 shooting.

The Raps attempted to pounce on the Jazz in the third quarter, hoping to put them away early, going on a 8-2 run but Trey Lyles and company weren’t interested in bowing down. Lyles, who had 19 points on 4-6 shooting from deep, helped crawl the Jazz back into the game, as they ended the quarter on a 19-10 run giving them a 2-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

#KyleLowryTime

This is where Lowry decided not to be human anymore, simply owning Q4 and leaving his mark in Salt Lake City.

Lowry left for the locker room early in the third quarter due to a collision with Gordon Hayward that required two stitches above his upper lip. When he stepped back onto the court, you could tell he was determined to head into the holidays with a win. Lowry poured in 19 of his season-high 36 points on 9-10 shooting in the fourth to catapult the Raptors over the Jazz in their first of six games on the road.

"“I wanted to get a win, that’s all, that’s it. Just win games, that’s all it’s about for us,” Lowry on what got him going late."

Kyle rules

Lowry continues to prove how impactful he really is to this Raptors squad and is arguably the best point guard in the eastern conference. Without him, who knows where the Raps would be?

One thing to mention that might not be a concern as of right now is the Raptors’ inability to defend the three ball. I don’t want to talk about the negatives in what was a solid win tonight but Utah did miss a ton of good looks from beyond the arc, that could have potentially swung the momentum in their favor. The Raptors might have gotten away with it tonight but when you have to matchup with a team such as the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Golden State Warriors, who rarely miss good looks, they’ll no doubt make you pay.

I don’t want to end this on a bad note so let’s do something different here.

Takeaways from this game:

• Lowry is a cold-blooded monster who makes you sleep at night with the light on.
• Bebe can shoot threes?? I’m still in utter shock
• Norman Powell #Underutilized

The Raptors are scattered off for the holidays with some players staying on the west coast to enjoy Christmas while some are heading east. They will be back in action on December 26th to continue their six-game road trip in Portland.

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