Posted January 26, 2012 on AP on Fox
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Jose Calderon hit a 3-pointer to tie it at the end of regulation and the Toronto Raptors rallied from an 18-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Utah Jazz 111-106 in double-overtime Wednesday night. Andrea Bargnani and reserve Linas Kleiza each scored 25 points for the Raptors, who won in Salt Lake City for the first time since 2004. Kleiza hit four of Toronto's 10 3-pointers. The Raptors won 99-96 in Phoenix on Tuesday night to end an eight-game losing streak against Phoenix before halting their 11-game skid against the Jazz. Paul Millsap led Utah with a season-high 31 points, including a 3-pointer to force the second overtime. Devin Harris added a season-best 24 points for the Jazz, but missed three late free throws. Utah center Al Jefferson sat out because of an inflamed right ankle and was wearing a walking boot on the sideline. Toronto scored the first five points of overtime on a layup from Calderon and Kleiza's 3-pointer. Derrick Favors' jam off a Gordon Hayward steal pulled Utah to 95-93, and Millsap tipped in Hayward's airball with 1:13 left to tie the game at 95. Kleiza hit his fourth 3-pointer to bump Toronto's lead to 98-95. Millsap's free throws made it a one-point game with 43 seconds left in OT, but Kleiza hit a pair of free throws to push it to 100-97 with 10.7 seconds left, setting up Millsap's tying 3 at the end of the first extra period. Kleiza hit another 3 in the second OT and Calderon added another to put Toronto up 109-103. Harris made only one of four free throws down the stretch, and the Raptors sealed it on a jumper by Leandro Barbosa. The game was tied 50-all at halftime and went back and forth in the third, with Harris and Millsap carrying the Jazz, while Aaron Gray and Calderon fueled the Raptors. A 6-0 run gave Utah a 69-62 lead late in the third, and Utah took a 75-69 edge into the fourth. The Jazz led 80-71 on a running jumper by Miles. Kleiza and Bargnani hit 3-pointers, and DeMar Derozan scored on a driving layup that pulled Toronto to 84-83 with 4:50 remaining. Utah then made two defensive plays, with Millsap forcing Bargnani into a tough shot and Favors blocking Kleiza. Millsap's driving reverse layup gave Utah an 86-83 lead with 2:52 remaining, and Harris' layup made it 90-87 with 17 seconds left. Calderon's big shot then forced overtime. The Jazz led by as many as 18 points in the first quarter, fueled by Harris, who had 12 points and a four-point play on a shot that banked in with 8:16 left. Utah made eight of its first 12 shots, while Toronto started cold. That quickly changed. The Raptors cut the gap to 32-23 at the end of one, with Barbosa hitting his first three shots, Bargnani draining a 3-pointer and Amir Johnson scoring on a driving layup. Toronto opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run to pull to 34-29 and was within two on Kleiza's 3-pointer with 6:23 left in the half. Bargnani's 3-pointer with 55 seconds left in the half gave the Raptors their first lead at 50-48. After shooting 67 percent to open the game, the Jazz missed 18 of their next 28 shots and were at 42.1 percent at halftime. It didn't help that Utah was without Jefferson, who leads the team in scoring (18.3) and rebounding (9.4). He missed one game earlier this season with the same injury. Second-year pro Favors started in Jefferson's place but got into early foul trouble, picking up his second with 3:34 left in the first. He finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Notes: Jazz swingman Josh Howard returned to action after missing four games with a left quad strain. He started 0 of 4 and finished with no points. ... The Jazz held a 14-2 edge in fast-break points in the first quarter.
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