The Toronto Raptors wore St. Patrick's Day green on Monday night, hoping it might change their luck, but they still were left red-faced in a 96-79 loss to the Utah Jazz.

Toronto went winless on the five-game road trip, and is 2-8 since all-star centre Chris Bosh was sidelined with a tender left knee.

Raptors forward Kris Humphries, left, is defended by Paul Millsap in Monday's 96-79 loss.
(Douglas C. Pizac/Associated Press)

"They have been trying hard to win games and it didn't happen on this trip," Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell said. "I'm proud of the way we played, the way we fought back to stay in the game."

Deron Williams led all scorers with 21 points as the Jazz (45-24) tied a franchise record with their 19th consecutive victory victory at EnergySolutions Arena.

Utah is unbeaten at home since a 104-98 loss to the Boston Celtics last Dec. 29.

"This was our fifth game in seven days," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said. "We got a little life, ran the floor and made some nice moves to the basket." 

"They're a good basketball team," Mitchell said.

Kyle Korver contributed 17 points in 24 minutes off the bench, and Carlos Boozer had 13 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.

Reserve point guard Ronnie Price provided 13 points and five assists in 13 minutes as Utah won its six straight over Toronto.

"My job is to bring energy when I step on the floor," he said. "The starters on this team play a lot of minutes, so I don't have a lot of time to make an impression."

Price sparked a 24-4 fourth-quarter run with a pair of driving layups, three assists, and pesky defence on Raptors guard T.J. Ford, who was ejected for arguing an offensive foul.

"I have been playing against T.J. since I was about eight years-old in Texas," Price pointed out. "I have so much respect for him and we have had a lot of battles over the years.

"He looked like he had an aggressive attitude. I knew I had to match that with my own intensity."

'Frustration, just frustration'

Ford, who scored only seven points, was so incensed that he had to be restrained by teammate Jason Kapono in front of referee Eddie F. Rush.

"Frustration, just frustration," Ford said. "The game was tied and they were able to take the momentum.

"We kept trying to fight and fight. Things just weren't going our way."

"Our second group did a great job," Williams said. "They carried us pretty much the whole game.

"Kyle was hitting shots. Ronnie was playing great defence, hitting shots and frustrating people out there."

Jose Calderon scored 16 points and doled out seven assists to lead the Raptors (34-33), who were outscored 31-14 in the final quarter. 

"It was one of those games where they kept hanging in there," Sloan said.

Rasho Nesterovic poured in 13 points and pulled down a game-best 13 rebounds for Toronto, while Anthony Parker had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Bosh will likely return Wednesday night, when the Raptors host the Miami Heat at the Air Canada Centre (7 p.m. ET).

With files from the Canadian Press