This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Toronto • It was no surprise that when the Jazz needed baskets to beat Toronto 140-133 in a triple-overtime thriller, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson made them.
The veterans have long been the Jazz's most reliable scorers. The surprise was that they were 3-pointers.
Jefferson made his second-career 3 with 2.2 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game, and Millsap made a 3 in each overtime period, including one that put the Jazz on top 134-130 in the final session.
Millsap led the Jazz with 34 points as Utah earned its first road win of the season and improved its overall record to 4-4. Jefferson finished with 24 points and 17 rebounds.
Seven Jazz players reached double figures in what amounted to one of the team's best performances of the season and, most certainly, its most satisfying — despite coming against a Toronto team playing without three key players: Kyle Lowry, Landry Fields and Alan Anderson.
The Jazz improved to 3-2 all-time in games that go to three or more overtimes, but three of them have been played in 2012. The Jazz were 1-1 in such games in the lockout-shortened season.
The Raptors were led by 37 points from DeMar Derozan, but for much of the night their leader was Linas Kleiza — who always seems to play his best against the Jazz — who came off the bench in the second quarter to score 17 points. He finished with 20 but missed six of his final seven shots.
Utah's Randy Foye scored 20 points off the bench before fouling out. He made four 3-pointers. Marvin Williams, who struggled for much of the early season, was 6-of-9 for 17 points.
Toronto took a 97-86 lead on a dunk by Amir Johnson, but the Jazz rallied to cut the deficit to 100-97 on a pair of free throws by Randy Foye. With 32.1 seconds left MoWilliams escaped from a scrum to find Paul Millsap in transition for a dunk that pulled the Jazz within 102-101. After an Amir Johnson basket, the Jazz had a final possession to tie the game. Mo Williams' attempt went long, but Jefferson rebounded, setting up his second-career 3-pointer, and second with Utah.
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