The Toronto Raptors cruised past the Utah Jazz courtesy of a historic first-half performance. What did we learn from the game?
After Friday’s, uh, game of basketball against the Orlando Magic, the Toronto Raptors were back at Scotiabank Arena to start a run of three home games against highly competitive opponents. The first of those opponents would be the Utah Jazz. The Raptors would be buoyed by the news that Serge Ibaka would finally be returning to the lineup after missing 10 games.
If the Raptors thought this game would be competitive and trust me, everyone did, then at half time, they would be sorely mistaken. Toronto held a 40-point lead over the Utah Jazz at halftime, and despite a slightly nervous few moments at the start of the fourth quarter, this game was never in any doubt.
The Raptors had eight players in double figures for the game and shot 52-percent from the field and from three while playing stifling defense, coming up with 14 steals and holding the Jazz to 42-percent shooting from the field.
There were signs of shooting from Marc Gasol, who scored 11 points in the first quarter, but didn’t score another basket after that. It wasn’t needed though, the Raptors did the job in the first half and were able to cruise to the victory with ample time to spare.
On the menu was another scoring spree from Pascal Siakam, with side dishes from Norman Powell and Fred VanVleet to add to the pallet. Everything counted towards another solid win for the Raptors, one that keeps their record perfect at home for the season so far.
A record that might be in jeopardy as the Raptors take on the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets this week. What did we learn from this game, though?