Durant scored 31 points, Bradley Beal added 30, and the Phoenix Suns defeated the Utah Jazz 129-115 on Thursday night, with All-Star Devin Booker sidelined by a strained left hip. The Suns never trailed, winning their third game in a row and 12th of the season. They also swept the Jazz in their four-game regular-season series.
The Suns put on an offensive display, shooting nearly 60% from the floor, with 37 assists and only 12 mistakes, and scoring 30 fast-break points, pounding the Jazz with waves of attack, especially in the first half.
“Our entire team is sharing the basketball,” Suns coach Frank Vogel explained. “We aspire to create a team-oriented organization. We have elite scorers and individual talent, but I really like how we play together.
Utah’s Lauri Markkanen led the way with 22 points, while John Collins scored 21 and Collin Sexton 19.
Phoenix had an early 40-28 lead, with Durant scoring 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. The Suns took a 75-66 advantage into halftime.
Utah reduced the lead to 81-78 early in the third quarter, but Phoenix responded with a 13-0 run led by 3-pointers from Gordon and Beal. By the end of the third quarter, the Suns had a 109-90 lead and never trailed in the fourth, maintaining a double-digit advantage throughout.
“Cut it to three and then after that, we just had some possessions were we took a few bad shots, a couple of turnovers and it allowed them to play against an unset defense,” Will Hardy, the Utah Jazz head coach, said. “It was another night where we didn’t get a break, only missing one. They did an excellent job of capitalizing on these opportunities.”
Gordon had 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Grayson Allen had 8 points and a career-high 14 assists.
Allen nearly quadrupled his previous career record of eight assists. With Booker on the bench, the sixth-year player was more of a ballhandler against the Jazz, despite his reputation for 3-point shooting.
“We’ve had guys in and out of the lineup all season, so we kind of understand our roles when guys are out,” Kevin Durant told reporters. “It’s a next-man-up mentality in this league.”
The Suns retooled their bench at the trade deadline earlier Thursday, adding Royce O’Neale from Brooklyn and David Roddy from Memphis, but neither was available. Utah also made two transactions, bringing in Kevin Knox II, Kira Lewis Jr., and Otto Porter Jr., all of whom were unavailable.
