• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Maynor, Jazz hold off Raptors 104-91

Nov 19, 2009 - 5:59 AM By DOUG ALDEN AP Sports Writer

SALT LAKE CITY(AP) -- Rookie Eric Maynor is getting some playing time for the short-handed Utah Jazz because of injuries.

The way he's playing, Maynor can expect to still be on the court even when the rest of the Jazz get healthy.

Maynor scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and helped the Utah Jazz stop a late surge by the Toronto Raptors and hold for a 104-91 victory Wednesday night.

Maynor and Deron Williams ran Utah's backcourt for the fourth quarter and the combination of point guards was too much for the Raptors to overcome.

"He continues to impress me," said Williams, who finished with 20 points and nine assists. "He's playing great. He's composed, he's making plays. He takes a lot of pressure off a lot of people."

Maynor had started the last two games as Williams left the team last week during a road trip to be with his young daughter as she went through medical tests for an undisclosed condition.

The Jazz were 1-1 under Maynor. He teamed with Williams for the fourth quarter after Toronto cut an 18-point lead to three.

The Raptors got within one point early in the fourth before the Jazz blew it open with their 17-2 run.

"You want to win at all times, but you also want to be a part of what's going on out there," said Maynor, who is averaging 17 points and seven assists in his last three games. "For me to get out there and get the minutes and be a part of what's going on, I think it's great."

Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 18 rebounds and Andrei Kirilenko had 20 points, seven rebounds three steals and two blocks for the Jazz, who beat the Raptors for the ninth straight time despite having only nine players available because of injuries.

Chris Bosh scored 32 points and pulled down 17 rebounds to lead the Raptors, who lost their third straight and went 1-3 on a four-game Western Conference road trip.

Toronto never quite recovered from a slow start, falling behind 14-3.

"I had to play the starters a lot more early in the game to get back into the game," Toronto coach Jay Triano said. "Late in the game, we just had nothing left."

The Jazz were without center Mehmet Okur (flu symptoms) and guard Ronnie Price (toe), leaving the backup point guard duties to Maynor, Utah's first-round pick out of Virginia Commonwealth.

Maynor finished 5 for 11 and had six assists and Paul Millsap added 10 points and six rebounds for Utah.

"Some of these guys played longer minutes and in different situations. That's what you can expect when you have a lot of injuries like we've had," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "I thought we moved the basketball well. We did a lot of things well tonight."

Marco Belinelli scored 19 and Hedo Turkoglu returned for Toronto after missing a loss at Denver the night before with a sore left hip and finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

The Raptors cut Utah's lead to nine at halftime, then Toronto took advantage of Utah's poor shooting as the Jazz went 4 for 14 in the third period.

Amir Johnson started a late rally with a block on Maynor to start a break for the Raptors, which Bosh finished with a two-handed dunk off a no-look pass from Belinelli to cut Utah's lead to 76-72. Maynor scored on a layup for the Jazz, but the Raptors pushed for the final shot of the period and Belinelli hit a 3-pointer that made it 78-75 Utah entering the fourth quarter.

"I think we made it possible to win the game," Belinelli said. "We made a couple of mistakes, especially in the last quarter. We can't make these mistakes against a team like Utah or Denver."

Belinelli added a layup to start the fourth and get the Raptors to 78-77, then the Jazz took over the game with a 17-2 run.

Maynor went 1 for 2 from the line, then Kirilenko and Boozer each added layups to give the Jazz more of a cushion at 83-77.

Kirilenko and Millsap battled each other for a defensive rebound that ended up going out of bounds, but Kirilenko made up for it after the inbounds when he ripped the ball out of Turkoglu's hands as he tried to drive the lane. Kirilenko's steal started a fast break which Maynor finished with a layup to put Utah up 89-79.

Maynor had eight points during a 12-0 run as the Jazz held the Raptors scoreless from Turkoglu's foul shots with 9:20 left until Jose Calderon hit a 3-pointer to cut Utah's lead to 95-82 with four minutes left.

NOTES: The Jazz were 16 for 26 (61.5 percent) in the first quarter, but just 1 for 3 from the foul line in the period while taking a 33-17 lead. ... Andrea Bargnani finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors. ... Bosh rallied the Raptors with eight straight points at the end of the second quarter to get Toronto to 61-52 at halftime. Bosh scored 22 in the half, hitting 8-of-11 shots and six free throws. ... Bosh scored 15 in the second quarter.