Who's Playing
Matchup: Toronto Raptors vs. Utah Jazz
Records: Raptors (45-18), Jazz (41-22)
Where to Watch
Date: Monday, March 9
Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: TSN (Canada), AT&T Sports Network or NBA League Pass (USA)
Location: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
Game Preview
A win streak must come to an end on Monday night.
Winners of three straight, the Toronto Raptors look to close out a gruelling road trip the right way as they take on the Utah Jazz, who have come on strong lately with a five-game win streak of their own.
POWER RANKINGS: Where did Jazz, Raptors land in top 10?
It's the second night of a back-to-back for the Raptors, who held off the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night to build a three-game lead over the Boston Celtics for the East's second seed.
In a game that saw Marc Gasol return to action after missing 15 games, it was the trio of Kyle Lowry (30 points, eight assists), Norman Powell (31 points, five assists) and Pascal Siakam (23 points, five assists) that paced the defending champs' offensive effort in Sacramento.
TAKEAWAYS: Lowry, Powell, Siakam power Raptors past Kings
Since returning to the lineup after being sidelined for four weeks, Powell has posted averages of 28.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists on .527/.395/.833 shooting splits. His contributions are especially welcomed as his return coincided with Fred VanVleet's move to the inactive list due to shoulder soreness.
It was said that the Raptors would look to get VanVleet back into the lineup by the end of this lengthy trip but the team may err on the side of caution now that they have built a cushion in the standings.
VanVleet's status for the game in Utah is uncertain.
The Jazz enter Monday night's game with a rest advantage as they had a day off after a win in Detroit on Saturday night.
Thanks to its recent win streak, Utah is now within two games of the West's No. 2 seed and has plenty to play for with just under 20 games remaining in the season.
Perhaps the most encouraging development from the team's streak is the performance of Mike Conley, who is averaging 17.0 points, 5.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 50.0% from the field and 43.8% from deep during this stretch after struggling to find his footing early on.
Mountain Mike with quite a week over the teams' 4-game road sweep:
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 9, 2020
𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐒: 17.3 points, 5.3 assists, shooting 46% from three.#PlayerOfTheWeek | @Xfinity pic.twitter.com/ncuauC4hMq
Meanwhile, Bojan Bogdanovic is almost quietly averaging 22.4 points per game on .487/.421/.909 shooting splits during the team's win streak.
While All-Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell get the majority of the attention – and rightly so – it has been the contributions of Bogdanovic, Conley and sixth man Jordan Clarkson that have allowed this team to reach its current level of play.
The next step for Utah is to get the most from Joe Ingles, who has yet to truly excel in a reserve role this season and to sustain its play against a strong opponent. With the Raptors in town, the Jazz have a shot to do just that.
Injury Report
An injury report has yet to be submitted for Monday's game.
Game Notes
- The Raptors are now 9-3 (.750) on the road vs. the Western Conference this season and are guaranteed to have a winning record on the road against the west for the fifth straight season.
- The Jazz are 10-1 (.909) at home vs. the Eastern Conference this season with the one loss coming to the Boston Celtics on Feb. 26.
- Toronto ranks 11th in offensive efficiency (111.4) and 2nd in defensive efficiency (105.1)
- Utah ranks 7th in offensive efficiency (112.3) and 11th in defensive efficiency (108.8)
- The Raptors have won three straight games over the Jazz overall and have not lost in Utah since Nov. 18, 2015
- Jazz guard Mike Conley and Raptors centre Marc Gasol were teammates with the Memphis Grizzlies for 11 seasons
- Raptors rookie Matt Thomas and Jazz forward Georges Niang were teammates at Iowa State University for three years
Last Time They Played
Date: Dec. 1, 2019
Score: Raptors 130, Jazz 110
Raptors: Pascal Siakam – 35 PTS, 5 AST, 2 STL
Jazz: Mike Conley – 20 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST
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