Toronto reminded the Jazz of that Monday night as the Raptors, missing star Chris Bosh and playing the second game of a back-to-back, almost spoiled Utah's home winning streak before falling 96-79 at EnergySolutions Arena.
Utah's win tied the franchise record for home win streaks at 19, reached twice before, but it won't be the most memorable victory in the run that started on New Year's Eve with a win over Portland.
The margin at the end was misleading as the Jazz struggled with the Raptors most of the night. They trailed the majority of the first quarter and nursed a single-digit lead for the second and third quarters.
"It was one of those games where they kept hanging in there and finally in the last part of the game we got a little life," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.
Deron Williams led the Jazz with 21 points and Kyle Korver celebrated his birthday by adding 17 points, including 11 in the fourth.
Utah has a chance to break the franchise record for home wins Thursday against the Lakers, a game whose importance for the playoff race overshadows any nice franchise mark it could provide.
"I'm more worried about the standings," Korver said when asked of the streak. "I know when we lose we potentially go down in the standings and I don't want to do that. The streak is nice, but the focus of these games is moving up the standings."
On Monday, the Jazz lost starter Mehmet Okur early in the game when he succumbed to nausea, playing just seven minutes and scoring one point. But aside from Williams' 21 points this wasn't a night for the starters anyway.
Williams had just four assists, one more than his season low and Carlos Boozer had 13 points and 10 rebounds but wasn't a part of Utah's fourth quarter run as he left early with a back strain.
Credit the bench for giving Utah the life Sloan referred to as the subs led the fourth quarter rally in which the Jazz outscored Toronto 31-14.
"That is the role of our bench," Korver said. "We came out sluggish and the second group watched that and we said, 'Hey, let's pick that up.' "
Utah's bench was outscored by the starters 49-47 for the game, but did the work in the final 12 minutes outscoring the starters 26-5. Utah turned a close game into a blowout with the early fourth quarter run as Korver made some jumpers, Matt Harpring got a jumper and assisted on a Ronnie Price layup and Paul Millsap provided a big body when Boozer left.
"Our second group did a great job," Williams said. "They carried us pretty much the whole game. Kyle was hitting shots, Ronnie was playing great defense and hitting shots and frustrating people out there. They just came with a lot of energy and heart."
Jose Calderon led the Raptors with 16 points and Rasho Nesterovic had 13 points and 12 rebounds. However, Toronto seemed to wilt in the fourth as it headed toward its fifth straight loss, its longest losing streak of the season.
The only one who showed much emotion was guard T.J. Ford. Unfortunately it was the wrong kind as he was called for an offensive foul driving into Price and was ejected for arguing with the refs with 6:59 remaining.
He was mocked by the crowd almost as loudly as it cheered the Jazz, underscoring the value of being at home even as the Jazz try not to put too much weight into their home winning streak.
"When you are home that happens," Sloan said of the fourth quarter lift. "You have a lot of guys who play better at home than they do on the road. Fortunately our bench gave them a chance to step up and win the game."
Briefly
Former Jazzman Kris Humphries finished with five points and five rebounds in 19 minutes against his former team. . . . Carlos Boozer, who left Monday's game early with a back strain, is probable for Wednesday's practice. . . . the Jazz are taking today off. . . . Ronnie Price's five assists tied his career high.
lwodraska@sltrib.com
Storylines
* IN SHORT: The Jazz match their franchise home winning streak with the win. Utah also won 19 in a row in January 1996-March 1996 and from December 1989 to March 1990.
* KEY MOMENT: Kyle Korver makes a three-pointer that starts a 24-4 fourth-quarter run for the Jazz.
* KEY STAT: Utah outscores the Raptors 31-14 in the final quarter.
Current streak
Dec. 31:
Jazz 111, Portland 101
Jan. 2:
Jazz 110, Phil. 107
Jan. 8:
Jazz 111, Indiana 89
Jan. 10:
Jazz 108, Phoenix 86
Jan. 12:
Jazz 119, Orlando 115
Jan. 14:
Jazz 98, Milwaukee 87
Jan. 18:
Jazz 106, Clippers 88
Jan. 25:
Jazz 127, Sac. 113
Jan. 28:
Jazz 97, San Antonio 91
Jan. 30:
Jazz 100,New York 89
Feb. 4:
Jazz 110, New Orleans 88
Feb. 9:
Jazz 97, Chicago 87
Feb. 19:
Jazz 119, Golden State 109
Feb. 23:
Jazz 100, Atlanta 94
Feb. 27:
Jazz 103, Detroit 95
March 3:
Jazz 116, Dallas 110
March 5:
Jazz 105, Minnesota 76
March 8:
Jazz 132, Denver 105
March 17:
Jazz 96, Toronto 79
Inside the streak
PPG: 109.4
Win margin: 13.2
Rebs for/agst: 714/642
Asts for/agst: 498/320
