Jazz run away from Raptors / Boozer crashes boards, bench steps up in win

SLIDESHOW: Utah Jazz vs Toronto Raptors

RELATED STORY: What's this? Maynor joins Williams in backcourt for key points of game

SALT LAKE CITY -- Last time the Utah Jazz played on their home court, they not only flirted with disaster, they puckered up and smooched it on the mouth.

This time, it was only a harmless flirtation.

Ten days removed from a dismal loss, in which they blew a 15-point lead to Sacramento, the Jazz threatened to do it again. Up by 18 in the first half Wednesday night against the visiting Toronto Raptors, Utah survived a major scare thanks to a unique lineup and the efforts of rookie point guard Eric Maynor.

Playing alongside Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap and Andrei Kirilenko, Maynor scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, propelling the Jazz (5-6) to their first home win since beating San Antonio on Nov. 5.

"I thought we had a great fourth quarter to be able to finish the game off," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "It looked like we were going to get in trouble a few times there."

Boozer scored 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and Williams and Kirilenko each added 20 points for the Jazz, who will visit the Spurs tonight in San Antonio.

Williams also had nine assists and six rebounds, while Kirilenko -- who came off the bench -- had seven boards, an assist, three steals and two blocked shots.

All-Star Chris Bosh led the Raptors with a game-high 32 points to go along with 17 rebounds. Guard Marco Belinelli added 19 points off the bench for Toronto (5-7).

The Jazz looked sharp early on, breaking out to a 12-3 lead. From there they continued to build, eventually getting it to 18 points near the end of the first quarter.

During those first 12 minutes it appeared Utah was heading for a much-needed blowout win. However, the momentum began to swing just before halftime when the Raptors mounted a 13-4 run.

After cutting Utah's lead down to single digits, Toronto continued to scrap in the third quarter, outscoring the Jazz 23-17 over the 12-minute span.

Although the Raptors shot just 37 percent from the field in the quarter, they held the Jazz to just 29 percent and forced three turnovers.

Belinelli's 3-pointer with .3 seconds remaining in the third quarter cut the lead to 78-75. He then scored again 50 seconds into the fourth quarter to make it a 1-point game.

The game stayed close over the next two minutes before Maynor began making a pest of himself.

The first-round draft pick scored scored eight straight points and 10 total during a decisive 14-3 run midway through the fourth.

"That was a terrific win for us," Sloan said.

The fact that Sloan called it a "terrific win" speaks to where the Jazz are at this point in the season.

Still below .500 and saddled with numerous injuries, they feel they have not yet reached their full potential.

On Wednesday, they suited up just nine players.

Starting center Mehmet Okur showed up for the team's morning shoot-around, but came down with flu-like symptoms later in the day and did not even make it to the arena.

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