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He's taken 97 shots this year, and each one felt good leaving his hands.

In that way, Dakarai Tucker said, his Sunday effort was unremarkable. There wasn't some special feeling, like fire shooting to his fingers. He just did what he always does.

"Every shot I shoot is a good shot, it goes in or out," he said. "Today it just decided to go in. It just started falling."

Lots of shots fell for Utah — and particularly Tucker with a career-best 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting — in a 77-56 win over Washington at the Huntsman Center. The pattern of Pac-12 blowouts is becoming unremarkable itself for the No. 12-ranked Runnin' Utes (16-3, 6-1), because it's starting to become apparent: This is what they do.

They can toss pinpoint bombs from beyond the 3-point line, as they did against a beleaguered Huskies zone defense to the tune of 11 for 18. They can clamp down with defensive adjustments, like they did during a 5-minute second half stretch when Washington went without a field goal.

They can do all these things when their top scoring threat, Delon Wright, shoots only 1 for 6, because he can pass the ball with lethal efficiency for nine assists. Actually, the team can pass with lethal efficiency: Utah had 20 assists on 28 baskets against only nine turnovers.

When all those factors come together, the Utes are nigh unbeatable — especially on their home floor where they won their 15th straight game in front of 13,047 fans.

"When you're getting stops and hitting threes, a tight game can get carried away as that one did," said Larry Krystkowiak, who earned his 100th career win as a college coach. "I was really proud of a lot of our guys."

Utah never trailed, leading by as much as 25, but it was close. For a while.

The Utes scored on their first four possessions, including a 3-pointer that pushed junior forward Jordan Loveridge over on the 1,000-point mark for his career. It seemed Utah would race away after hitting 11 of its first 15 shots, but Washington clawed back in it behind the hot hand of Andrew Andrews (22 points).

Tucker, one of the most reserved Utes, leapt to the forefront of Utah's clinching 23-3 run. The junior hit four straight 3-pointers in the key second-half stretch, including one falling away after he was fouled.

Fellow junior Brandon Taylor added 14 points and four assists to continue his hot play in Pac-12 games. While the outside shooting was the eventual trump card in the victory, Utah also got help on the inside against the zone from Chris Reyes, who had 11 points for his highest scoring night in a Utah uniform.

"We did a pretty nice job getting the ball in there and collapsing the zone," Krystkowiak said. "Chris managed to get his hands on some shots around the rim. … He's been putting some time into practice and trying to improve his post play."

Utah's next challenges come away from home, facing UCLA and USC on the road. Tucker and Taylor, both Los Angeles natives, are already buzzing.

"It always feels good to compete in front of our friends and family," Taylor said. "We've got a lot of work that lies ahead of us."

Twitter: @kylegoon —

No. 12 Utah 77, Washington 56

• The Utes shoot 11 for 18 from 3-point range.

• Utah outscores UW 40-26 in the second half.

• Dakarai Tucker leads with a career-best 19 points.

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