TONIGHT’S GAME
SALT LAKE CITY — Suns coach Jeff Hornacek wanted to bring back the high-scoring, wide-open play of the franchise’s past when he took over this season.
While the Suns have been the best fast-breaking team in the NBA, it never has meant they were overwhelming scorers or the fastest-paced team. In their past two wins, they found something even better than game speed — offensive efficiency.
A team muddled by turnovers early in the season has turned sharper. Even though the Suns played no faster Friday, it meant more in that there was less time between points as they made Hornacek a homecoming victor in the Suns’ 112-101 victory over Utah at EnergySolutions Arena.
The Suns had a season-low eight turnovers and posted successive 30point quarters for the first time this season in the first half. They piled on the offense for another 30-point quarter in the third after scoring a season-best 120 Wednesday against Portland.
“For a while, we were good defensively and pretty poor offensively,” Hornacek said. “In the last four or five games, we’ve been pretty good offensively and our defense has slipped.”
Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe made a successful return after missing six games for a bruised shin, coming off the bench to be part of the crew that pulled Phoenix (9-7) away in the second quarter against Utah (2-15). Bledsoe had 19 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists in 28 minutes after a two-week hiatus.
“I was just happy to be out there helping my team, especially during crunch time,” Bledsoe said. “I was feeling so good that I was trying to do anything and everything.”
The point guard who has been manning the ship solo kept up his high level. After the Suns spotted Utah a 9-0 start, Goran Dragic got the Suns quickly tied with aggressive play and kept it up for a 17-point, six-assist half and 62-51 lead.
“When we don’t run and play halfcourt, that’s not our game,” Dragic said. “That’s how we get so many turnovers. If you push the ball, if you’re aggressive, attack the pass and shoot when you’re open, the game is really simple for us.”
Markieff Morris followed his 19point game against Portland by scoring 23 points over 21 minutes in the first three quarters Friday.
It was the Suns’ fourth win in five games, setting them up to end November at 10-7 if they can beat the Jazz tonight at US Airways Center. The Jazz are the NBA’s worst team but had more rest, returning players (Trey Burke recently and Enes Kanter on Friday) and won Wednesday against Chicago.
The Jazz are one of the poorer offensive teams in the NBA but shot 48.2 percent against the Suns. It was the secondhighest shooting percentage that the Suns have surrendered this season, but it was one they could live with because they shot a season-best 54.7 percent from the field.
“They got what they wanted,” Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. “They had us spread out.”
P.J. Tucker held Utah leading scorer Gordon Hayward to 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting. When: 7 p.m. Where: US Airways Center. TV/radio: FSAZ/KTAR-AM (620). Jazz update: Utah already is playing its sixth back-to-back set of the season. It had lost by double digits in each of the back ends of the first four sets but won an overtime game Wednesday against Chicago in its most recent try. Enes Kanter came off the bench Friday against Phoenix after missing a game with an ankle sprain but is usually the league’s second youngest starting center. Go to suns.azcentral.com for live game updates, weekly chats and the latest news from the team. 42, 54 Points scored and minutes played for Markieff Morris in Wednesday’s and Friday’s wins. PG Goran Dragic spurred the Suns with a 17-point, six-assist first half and finished with 19 points and nine assists. The Suns stretched their lead in the second quarter. They did not allow Utah a made field goal for four minutes until the Jazz scored on successive second-chance baskets. Watching Eric Bledsoe play Friday night was a stark contrast to the guy who has been limping for the past week and a half. Any questions about whether his explosive ways would still be there were quickly squashed when he hopped to deflect a pass and again later to put back his own miss on a spinning, driving move. His conditioning was even good enough to stay in for 12 consecutive game minutes.