This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It was late in the fourth quarter, when Toronto Raptors forward DeMar DeRozan blew past one defender and into the paint, took off into the air and cocked back his right arm. Then he hammered down a truly awesome dunk atop the head of one of the NBA's best shot blockers.
People leapt out of their seats and squealed. Jaws hung agape. And Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz trailed by one.
As you read this, that dunk is being looped millions and millions of times on televisions and laptops and cell phone screens.
It was spectacular.
And it might, as they say, break the Internet.
It couldn't break the Jazz's spirit.
"It's not the first one. It's not the last one," Gobert said afterward. "I'm still going to come back next time."
That's exactly what the Jazz (6-5) did in a 93-89 win over the visiting Raptors on Wednesday night.
DeRozan's dunk put Toronto up 83-82 with over 4 minutes to play in a thrilling contest before 18,700 fans in Salt Lake City. But from there, the Jazz took over with Derrick Favors scoring eight of his team-high 18 points-including converting a crucial and-one after that highlight-reel slam.
"We probably would have lost that game a couple years ago," Favors said of his team, which trailed by as much as six in the fourth. "But we done been through so much we know how to handle that situation now."
Gordon Hayward scored 17 points, nine in the fourth quarter, to go with seven rebounds. Shooting guard Rodney Hood had 16 points, while Alec Burks and Trey Burke combined for 23 points off the bench.
The Raptors (7-6) arrived in Utah under difficult circumstances. The night before, Toronto went toe-to-toe with the the first-place Golden State Warriors, losing the game and then an hour after traveling to Salt Lake after a late West Coast tipoff. So Toronto, a team already battling slow starts, faced an uphill battle.
The Jazz jumped out to an early 9-point lead in the first quarter and owned a 24-19 advantage after one.
But turnovers — seven in the second quarter — and 35-year-old Toronto forward Luis Scola soon put Utah in a hole. Scola scored a game-high 22 points, with 18 coming in the first half.
In the third quarter, it was Toronto's All-Star point guard, Kyle Lowry, who led the charge against the Jazz. Lowry scored 11 points in the frame to help push the Raptors' lead to seven. The guard finished the night with 20 points and six assists.
And in the fourth, DeRozan took his turn for the Raptors. He scored 12 points in the quarter, including that dunk to give his team a late lead.
Afterward, Jazz coach Quin Snyder gave his 7-footer a pass on the play.
"Rudy has pride and he doesn't like those kinds of things to happen. But he's also X-inches away from blocking that. That's why it's such a spectacular play," Snyder said.
Then the coach added, "But that was on the other guys. That was a straight blow-by. … Our team got dunked on. The other four guys, they got dunked on. Rudy just happened to be under the rim."
It apparently pricked the pride of everyone wearing white. Because after the dunk, DeRozan failed to score again. He took a 8-foot jump shot but air balled as Gobert extended a hand to contest. Then, in the game's final 30 seconds, Gobert reached down and poked the ball away from DeRozan, bouncing off the Raptor star's leg and out of bounds for a turnover.
"It's the last minute, the last possessions of a game, so my level's going to be high anyway," Gobert said when asked if that play helped raise his own. "But, yeah, you get a little bit mad. Of course."
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