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Toronto • As good as Kawhi Leonard was throughout Tuesday night’s 122-116 win over the Jazz, he was especially good in the third quarter. All of the Raptors were, actually.
That 9-0 quarter-opening run, featuring three consecutive made 3-pointers, was a harbinger of things to come.
Leonard, individually, scored 19 points in the frame on 7-for-7 shooting. Toronto, as a team, scored 44 points in the quarter, and shot 15 for 19.
“Effort wasn’t there, and it was bad,” said Jazz forward Jae Crowder, who scored career-high 30 points. “Especially in the third quarter — those guys got some momentum, banged home three 3s on us, got some confidence. From there it was an uphill battle.”
Donovan Mitchell said the Jazz have to do a better job at not letting players like Leonard go off on them.
“I mean, he was just too comfortable; there have been many instances this year where guys have been comfortable,” Mitchell said. “Until we put that to a stop, nights like this are going to happen.”
Week in review
• You may have noticed — it’s 2019 now! So Andy Larsen took a look back at the top-10 Jazz stories of 2018. [TRIB]
• Dante Exum has been playing well of late. Well enough to convince his supporters that he’s approaching the potential that led him to be drafted No. 5 overall. [TRIB]
• There’s no denying that Donovan Mitchell has had some struggles in his sophomore season. The star guard conceded that 2018-19 has “really tested me mentally.” [TRIB]
• Andy and I podcasted again! That iteration of The Weekly Run goes into Ben Simmons' disdain, Donovan’s inefficiencies, and Dante’s rise. [SoundCloud]
• The Sixers' Ben Simmons yelled at me for suggesting he and Donovan were in a Rookie of the Year race last season. [TRIB]
• Donovan got his own signature shoe from Adidas, which unveiled a prototype of the kinda-sorta-Spiderman-themed “D.O.N. Issue #1.” [TRIB]
• Trib columnist Gordon Monson wrote about the Jazz, noting that while Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are the team’s best players, their results are frequently tied to the play of Ricky Rubio. [TRIB]
Other voices
• If you want to know how Tuesday night’s game looked from the Raptors' perspective, the SB Nation sub-site Raptors HQ breaks it down Triple Team-style (except with five points instead of three). [Raptors HQ]
• Ryan McDonald of the Deseret News took a look at how the Jazz’s offense is functioning since the arrival of Kyle Korver. Spoiler: 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage are both way up. [Des News]
• Enes Kanter left the Jazz once on unhappy terms. After the Knicks' blowout loss to the Jazz last week, he told reporters, including KSL.com’s Ryan Miller, that he’s on unhappy terms now with New York, too. [KSL]
• Former @tribjazz Aaron Falk, now a feature writer for utahjazz.com, talked to Rudy Gobert to get his thoughts on what’s ahead in 2019. [Jazz]
• Another former @tribjazz, Tony Jones, now writing for The Athletic, takes a look at what the upcoming schedule might hold for the Jazz, now that its most treacherous part is over. (Note: Content from The Athletic requires a free trial sign-up or a subscription.) [Athletic]
• And, because, as I mentioned, we’re in a new year now, Jae Crowder took to social media to send his best wishes and positive thought out to everybody — in all caps, of course. [Twitter]
Quote of the week
Donovan Mitchell put Tuesday’s loss into very succinct context after the game:
“I think it’s the way they came out with force, we didn’t match it. We had to get hit first for us to punch back and that can’t happen.”
Up next
The Jazz have three games yet to go on this road trip. Friday night they’ll be in Cleveland, taking on former Jazzmen Alec Burks and Rodney Hood, now with the Cavaliers. That game is part of a back-to-back, as they’ll take on Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, and the Pistons on Saturday in Detroit. The trip wraps Monday night against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, at the brand-new Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Utah’s next home game is next Wednesday, vs. the Orlando Magic.
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