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Boozer, Williams lead Jazz to fifth straight win

Nov 15, 2007 - 4:19 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Carlos Boozer and the Utah Jazz continue to roll.

Boozer scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Jazz posted a 92-88 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

Deron Williams scored 22 points, including 11 in the final quarter, and dished out five assists and Mehmet Okur added 13 and six rebounds for Utah, which has won five in a row.

"I think it was good win for us against a good team," Williams said of Utah's first contest of a three-game Eastern Conference road swing. "I don't think I was being as aggressive as I should have in the first half, but in the fourth I was more aggressive."

The Jazz, who shot 43 percent (33-of-77) from the field, also have won five straight against the Raptors. Utah also used runs of 10-3 to end the first half and 10-2 to finish the third quarter to keep Toronto at bay.

"People don't realize how difficult it is to win in this league," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "It's a wonderful win for us on this road trip."

Boozer, who did not score in the first period when Utah trailed by four, tallied 10 in each of the middle two quarters while notching his eighth double-double in nine games this season. The 6-9 Boozer connected on 9-of-24 shots from the floor.

"I just kept at it and was able to get it going and tried to attack the rim," Boozer said. "You can't always knock down all of your shots but you have to stay aggressive to give yourself a chance."

Late in the fourth quarter, with the Jazz leading 87-85 after a dunk by Toronto's Chris Bosh, Boozer hit a hook shot off a nice feed from Andrei Kirilenko to give Utah a four-point lead with 28 seconds left.

T.J. Ford then drilled a 3-pointer to cut the Raptors' deficit to 89-88 with 18 seconds remaining, but three free throws by Williams and Boozer iced the win for Utah.

Ronnie Brewer scored 12 points and Andrei Kirilenko did a little of everything, recording eight points, nine rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two blocks for the Jazz, who held their third straight opponent under 100 points.

"I just can't say enough about AK (Kirilenko) right now," Boozer said. "He's blocking shots, scoring, rebounding, getting assists and has really good vision out there."

Anthony Parker scored 19 points and rookie Jamario Moon added 15 for Toronto, which has lost three straight at home.

"It's disappointing to drop three straight at home," Parker said. "This is our home court and we have to protect it and can't let these slip away."

The Raptors made just 39 percent (35-of-91) of their shots on Wednesday. The main culprits for Toronto were Andrea Bargnani, who shot 1-of-11, and Bosh, who was 1-of-8, before going 4-of-4 in the fourth.

"We had open looks but shots don't fall sometimes," Bosh said. "We came out a little flat. We played pretty good defense and still had a chance to win but we have to make our open looks."