Raptors 115, Jazz 91
TORONTO -- Forward Tyler Hansbrough scored a season-best 23 points as the Toronto Raptors snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating the winless Utah Jazz 115-91 on Saturday night.
The Jazz have lost seven games in a row to open the season, the team's worst start since dropping the first 11 games of its inaugural season in 1974-75 in New Orleans.
The Raptors (3-4) also ended a seven-game home losing streak to the Jazz (0-7) with the victory.
Guard DeMar DeRozan added 18 points for the Raptors while center Jonas Valanciunas scored 14 and forward Rudy Gay had 11.
Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry left the game early in the second half with a sprained right ankle and did not return. He finished with nine points.
Guard Gordon Hayward led with Jazz with 24 points to lead the Jazz. Forward Derrick Favors and guard Alec Burks each added 17 points while center Enes Kanter had 14.
The Jazz entered Saturday with a 25-8 all-time record against the Raptors including a 12-4 advantage in Toronto. The Raptors had not defeated the Jazz at Air Canada Centre since Dec. 22, 2004.
Forward Quincy Acy, getting added playing time in the romp, hit for a 3-pointer nearly two minutes into the fourth quarter to put the Raptors at 100 points for the first time this season as they opened a 35-point lead. Acy finished with nine points as did guard Terrence Ross.
The Raptors were well on their way to that plateau when they entered the second half leading by 26 points.
Toronto stretched the lead to 33 points on a dunk by guard/forward Landry Fields with 4:30 left in the third quarter. DeRozan completed a 3-point play when he made the free throw to make the score 91-60 after three quarters.
The Raptors led by 14 points after one quarter and in slightly more than a minute stretched it to 19 when Hansbrough scored the first five points of the second quarter.
Toronto continued to pour it on. When Acy hit a 3-pointer with 1:53 left in the half, it was 56-28.
When Gay hit a 3-pointer at the end of half, the Raptors took a 62-36 lead into the intermission. It was the Raptors' highest scoring half of the season.
NOTES: The Raptors are the first team since the 1974 Houston Rockets to face an undefeated (Indiana) and winless (Utah) opponent on consecutive nights (minimum five games played), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... The game against Utah was the eighth time the Raptors have played on a Saturday night -- usually reserved for the NHL's Maple Leafs -- at Air Canada Centre since the arena opened in 1999. ... The Jazz played Saturday without C Andris Biedrins (left ankle sprain), G Trey Burke (right index finger surgery), F Jeremy Evans (right rotator cuff strain) and G Brandon Rush (left knee rehabilitation). ... The Raptors who played their fourth game in five nights on Saturday will play again Monday against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. ... After playing their fourth consecutive road game Saturday, the Jazz will return home to play the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
