Kawhi Leonard's career-high 45 points lead Raptors to 122-116 win over Jazz

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Gilbert McGregor
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The Raptors (28-11) began the calendar year with a 122-116 win over the Jazz (18-20).

Toronto has won six of its last seven meetings against Utah; Tuesday's win marks the Raptors second season sweep of the Jazz in three years. The game marked the beginning of a four-game Eastern Conference trip for the Jazz, who were unable to get things started on the right note.

If you missed any of the action, check below for updates, highlights and stats, from throughout the night.

Toronto Raptors vs. Utah Jazz: Live score updates, highlights and stats

Preview | Box Score | Play-by-play

Final: Raptors 122, Jazz 116

10:00 p.m. – It's a final from Toronto as the Raptors defeat the Jazz 122-116 behind a career-high 45 points from Kawhi Leonard and a career-high 28 points from Pascal Siakam.

Led by 30 points from Jae Crowder, the Jazz saw five different players finish in double figures. Utah failed to find its rhythm from deep, however, connecting on just 28.1 percent of its 32 attempts on the night.

9:57 p.m. –  More MVP chants come for Leonard, who sinks one of two free throws to bring his total for the night to 45 points.

Toronto leads 122-116 with 6.9 seconds remaining.

9:55 p.m. –  The Raptors lead 121-116 with 8.6 seconds remaining and the ball.

It looks like the home team just needs to hold on for its second straight win.

9:50 p.m. –  Kawhi Leonard's up to 44 points on the night and the Jazz have started double-teaming him to get the ball out of his hands

9:45 p.m. –  With 3:05 remaining in regulation, Kawhi Leonard sinks two free throws for a career-high 42 points.

Raptors lead 115-107 with plenty of time for Leonard to push his new career best further.

9:42 p.m. –  Make that 40 (!) points for Kawhi, who is one-point shy of tying his career-high 41 points.


Toronto's lead briefly goes back to eight points before free throws from Rudy Gobert make it 113-107 with 3:10 remaining.

9:41 p.m. –  Two free throws from Kawhi Leonard give him a season-high 38 points and put the Raptors back up six points with 3:51 remaining. 

Timeout on the floor.

9:39 p.m. –  Back-to-back 3-pointers from Jae Crowder bring his total for the night up to 30 points and quickly cut the deficit to four points.

Toronto leads 109-105 with under four minutes to play.

9:34 p.m. –  With 4:44 left in regulation, the Jazz call for timeout down 108-99 after Pascal Siakam gets the hoop and the harm.

Siakam is up to 25 points on the night and will step to the line after the break.

9:28 p.m. –  The Raptors' reserves have kept the lead in tact, but Nick Nurse calls for time as things begin to get a bit sloppy on the floor.

7:44 remains in regulation and the Raptors lead 102-93. Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet have yet to return to action in the fourth.

End of Third Quarter: Raptors 95, Jazz 85

9:17 p.m. –  The third was the Kawhi Leonard takeover quarter, as he scored 19 of his game-high 34 points in the period and the Raptors outscored the Jazz 44-32 to take a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter.


Pascal Siakam was no slouch in the third, either, as he finished with 13 of his 23 points on the night in the frame.

Utah's leading scorer through three is Jae Crowder, who has 20 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field and 7-for-7 shooting from the free throw line in under 20 minutes of action.

9:12 p.m. –  MVP chants begin to echo at Scotiabank Arena as Kawhi Leonard steps to the free throw line.

He's got 32 points with two minutes remaining – 17 of them scored in the third quarter alone.

9:05 p.m. –  Toronto calls for time with 4:45 remaining in the third – it has outscored Utah 27-18 so far in the period to build a seven-point lead.

Kawhi Leonard (26 points) and Pascal Siakam (21 points) have led the charge as the Raptors now lead 78-71.

While the Jazz are still hovering around 40.0 percent from the field, Derrick Favors (19 points, eight rebounds) and Donovan Mitchell (15 points) have paced the offence.

8:58 p.m. –  Kawhi Leonard just knows how to get to his spots on the offensive end.


 

8:52 p.m. –  The Raptors come out of the break FIRING as a 9-0 run puts them up 60-53 just over two minutes into the half.

Utah calls for time with 9:55 remaining in the third.

Halftime: Jazz 53, Raptors 51

8:40 p.m. – The Raptors trail by two despite shooting 53.7 percent from the field and holding the Jazz to 40.0 percent in the half.

Both teams have struggled from deep, but Utah has taken advantage of getting to the line, attempting 19 free throws in the first half while Toronto has attempted just five.

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8:34 p.m. –  A stepback jumper from second-year guard Donovan Mitchell with 11.4 seconds remaining gives the Jazz a two-point halftime lead as the Raptors failed to convert on the other end before the break. Mitchell finished the half with 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting from the field.

Utah was led by 15 points and six rebounds from Derrick Favors while Kawhi Leonard led Toronto with 15 points and four rebounds in the half.

8:25 p.m. –  Nick Nurse, who is unhappy with the officiating on the last few possessions, calls for timeout with 4:23 left in the second quarter.

Behind Kawhi Leonard's 10 points, Toronto holds a 44-41 lead but the Jazz have attempted 18 free throws to the Raptors' four.

8:18 p.m. –  Defence translates to offence as a transition layup from Pascal Siakam puts the Raptors back in front by two.


Timeout Utah with 6:42 remaining in the half as it trails 40-38.

8:14 p.m. –  After trailing 30-26, the Jazz use a 7-0 run to go up 33-30 – their biggest lead of the night.

Like clockwork, Norman Powell responds with a driving lay in to bring the run to a halt.

End of First Quarter: Raptors 26, Jazz 24

8:06 p.m. –  One quarter is in the books and the Raptors lead 26-24 after being up by as many as eight points in the first 12 minutes.

Despite shooting 55.0 percent in the quarter and holding Utah to 34.8 percent shooting, Toronto holds just a two-point lead. The Jazz have made up for the difference at the line, as they shot 8-for-11 from the charity stripe in the first while the Raptors shot just 2-for-2.

Kawhi Leonard leads all scorers with 10 points while the Jazz were led by eight points from Rudy Gobert.


7:58 p.m. –  2:43 remains in the first frame and the Raptors call for time as they hold a 22-15 lead over the Jazz.

Kawhi Leonard and Rudy Gobert have each scored a game-high six points, while Raptors reserve Norman Powell has been a spark early on with five points in just over two minutes.


7:48 p.m. –  Toronto gets out to a 13-5 lead after a Kawhi Leonard jumper and Utah calls for a timeout less than five minutes into the first quarter.

Serge Ibaka leads all scorers with five points early on.

7:44 p.m. –  Fred VanVleet scores his first two points in style


7:41 p.m. –  Serge Ibaka gets the Raptors on the board first with a hook shot but the Jazz's Donovan Mitchell quickly responds with a layup.

Things are off to a quick start at Scotiabank Arena.

Pregame

7:20 p.m. – After missing the team's last game, Ricky Rubio returns to the starting lineup alongside Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert.


6:50 p.m. –  With Kyle Lowry out, the Raptors will start Fred VanVleet, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka.


2:45 p.m. –  Kyle Lowry will be out for the foreseeable future, as the team announced Tuesday there is no timetable for the All-Star guard's return as he recently received pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory injections for lower back soreness.

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Gilbert McGregor

Gilbert McGregor is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.