Playing without Gradey Dick and Jonathan Mogbo, the Toronto Raptors weren’t able to keep their perfect Summer League record alive.
The Utah Jazz broke out to a big lead in the second quarter and were able to hold off the Raptors’ late comeback effort to take an 86-76 win on Wednesday night.
Toronto turned to a full-court press in the final minutes of the fourth quarter that helped them chip into Utah’s lead — cutting their deficit as low as six — but Utah’s lead was a little too big to overcome.
Javon Freeman-Liberty led the way for Toronto, pouring in 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and 3-of-6 shooting from deep. He also mixed in two rebounds and three assists in just less than 24 minutes.
No other Raptors scored in the double digits, but undrafted free agent signing Branden Carlson made an impact on both ends of the floor, recording seven points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Jamal Shead finished with seven points, four rebounds, two assists and four steals, helping the Raptors’ comeback effort with his work on the defensive end.
The Jazz got big games from 2023 first-round pick Taylor Hendricks and 2024 second-round Kyle Filipowski to improve to 2-1 in Las Vegas.
Hendricks finished with a near double-double, scoring 23 points and pulling down nine rebounds. He shot a near-perfect 9-of-10 from the field and knocked down three three-pointers.
Filipowski has 20 points, seven boards and three steals of his own, knocking down a pair of triples on 56.2 per cent shooting from the field.
Dick (sprained ankle) and Mogbo (back) were both inactive due to injuries suffered during Toronto’s last Summer League on Sunday.
The Raptors will be back in action on Friday when they take on the Miami Heat, whose win earlier Wednesday improved them to 3-0 in the Summer League.