Durant scores 31 points and Beal adds 30 in Suns’ victory over Jazz
PHOENIX – Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Bradley Beal had 30 and the Phoenix Suns – with All-star Devin Booker sidelined by a sore left hip – beat the Utah Jazz 129-115 on Thursday night.
The Suns never trailed, winning their third straight game and 12th of 15. They also swept the four-game, regular-season series from the Jazz.
Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 22 points, while John Collins had 21 and Collin Sexton 19.
Phoenix jumped out to a 40-28 lead in the first quarter after 19 points from Durant on 8-of-13 shooting. The Suns settled for a 75-66 halftime lead.
Utah cut it to 81-78 early in the third but Phoenix used a 13-0 run – highlighted by Eric Gordon’s 3-pointer – to regain control. The Suns built a 10990 lead by the end of the third quarter and never trailed in the fourth, keeping a double-digit margin throughout.
Gordon scored 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and eight rebounds, and
Grayson Allen added eight points and a career-high 14 assists. The Suns shot 59% from the field.
Allen nearly doubled his previous career high of eight assists. The sixthyear player is known for his 3-point shooting, but with Booker on the bench, he was more of a ballhandler against the Jazz.
Earlier Thursday, the Suns re-tooled their bench at the trade deadline, adding Royce O’neale from the Brooklyn and David Roddy from Memphis, but neither was available on Thursday. Utah also made a pair of moves, adding Kevin Knox II, Kira Lewis Jr. and Otto Porter Jr., who were also unavailable.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Host Golden State on Monday.
Suns: Travel to Golden State on Saturday.