The Utah Jazz came away with a victory over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, thanks in large part to the birthday boy, Joe Ingles.
It wasn’t the prettiest win, but you’ll take it. The Utah moved to 2-0 in preseason play after a strong second half where Toronto Raptors rested their two All-Stars, Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry. The Jazz prevailed 105-95 in the game.
Utah opened the game strong, and had a six-point lead after the first quarter. The second quarter, however, was simply put, a disaster. Utah got outscored 33-18. Turnovers were killing them, and they had no answer for Leonard, who finished with 17 points on the night, nine in the second quarter.
Toronto rested Leonard and Lowry the entire second half, and the Jazz took advantage. Joe Ingles, who turned 31 years old on Tuesday, brought so much energy to the arena with his sharpshooting display. The Aussie had 24 points in 23 minutes, hitting five 3-pointers.
Ingles wasn’t the only Jazzman to put on a show, as Rudy Gobert looked great once again. Gobert finished the game with 13 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1047327618863837184
With Dante Exum out due to knee soreness, Grayson Allen picked up some backup point guard minutes. He wasn’t nearly as good as he was during his NBA debut against Perth, but the rookie had some good moments tonight, including a 3-pointer and alley-oop slam in the fourth quarter.
Aside from that second quarter, the Jazz looked pretty good. They’ll continue to be one of the elite defensive teams in the league, but they do need to tighten things up in a few areas. The team had 23 turnovers in the contest; they need to take care of the ball better, knock down their foul shots, and defend without fouling.
It was a solid preseason win, but you’ve got to wonder how this game would have unfolded had it been during the regular season, where Leonard and Lowry would be in the game rather than sitting on the bench. Regardless, the Jazz got the win and will look to improve while the regular season approaches.
Utah will be back in action on Friday night, when they will host the Adelaide 36ers. Tip-off is at 7:00 PM MT.