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Jazz blast Raptors

One by one, the Toronto Raptors silently funnelled out of the locker-room following their second straight blowout loss at home.
Kyle Korver; Reggie Evans
Toronto Raptors forward Reggie Evans (right) and Utah Jazz forward Kyle Korver (left) battle for a loose ball during first half NBA action in Toronto on Wednesday.

>b>Jazz 113 Raptors 87

TORONTO — One by one, the Toronto Raptors silently funnelled out of the locker-room following their second straight blowout loss at home.

The only thing quieter was the way they bowed out against the powerhouse Utah Jazz.

Deron Williams led a balanced attack with 18 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds as the Jazz trounced the Toronto Raptors 113-87. Carlos Boozer added 18 points and 11 rebounds while Mehmet Okur and rookie Wesley Matthews had 16 points apiece for the red-hot Jazz (47-25), who earned their third straight win and improved to 28-8 in their past 36 games.

Seven Jazz players finished with at least 12 points.

Chris Bosh celebrated his 26th birthday with a 20-point performance for the Raptors (35-35), who lost ground to the Charlotte Bobcats in the Eastern Conference. The Bobcats upended the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-95 to move into a tie for sixth with Miami, 1 1/2 games up on Toronto.

Antoine Wright scored 10 of his 15 points in the second quarter for the Raptors, while Andrea Bargnani added 12 and Jose Calderon 10. It’s the second straight home rout for Toronto, which fell 115-89 to Oklahoma City last Friday.

After Wednesday’s game, Bosh shared his frustration in hushed tones, once again calling out his teammates for not playing hard.

“(The Jazz are) good, they’re one of the best teams in the West,” said Bosh. “But that’s still no excuse. We didn’t come to play. Yeah, they’re good, but we have to (say), ‘Who cares? We’re still going to win this game.’ And I don’t think we have that fire right now.”

Bosh said it wasn’t his job to motivate his teammates.

“I can’t instill it in guys,” said Bosh. “You have to have it on your own. As much as I would like to do everything, I can’t do everything. Personally, you have to bring something to the plate. Whatever gets guys going, we have to find it.”

On a night where both teams donned retro jerseys, Williams and Boozer channelled their inner John Stockton and Karl Malone to make easy work of the Raptors, beating them for the 10th straight time.