Bruised and battered, Millsap was smiling after the comeback victory.
“That’s all right,” he said. “That’s basketball. … That’s what I do. It’s fun out there. It’s not fun to get the stitches, but that’s all part of it.”
Marcin Gortat led the Suns with 18 points while Gordan Dragic added 17 and Luis Scola finished with 15. But Phoenix scored only 34 points over the next 311/2 minutes after pouring in 36 points in the opening 14 minutes.
“I thought the last three quarters were the worst we could possibly play,” said coach Alvin Gentry. “… We never got anything done. We had no rhythm. We were always on the shot clock and they were getting so many things in the paint.”
The turnaround started after Markieff Morris scored to give Suns an 11-point lead with 10 minutes left in the first half.
“We got into a pace where they were getting shots where they wanted to,” Corbin said. “We didn’t get our hands on anybody. They were coming to the basket. Dragic was turning the corner on us. Scola was hitting shots. Gortat was driving to the basket. But we picked it up.”
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Published May 20, 2013 05:08:48PM
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Published May 16, 2013 11:38:21PM 0 Comments
After falling behind and looking lost, however, the Jazz stopped Phoenix on its next 17 possessions. They took a 42-40 halftime lead on Alec Burks’ acrobatic layup with one second left.
Burks finished with only four points and three assists in 21 minutes, but he was also on the floor in the second quarter when Utah held the Suns to nine points.
“Defensively, he’s getting better,” Corbin said. “He has to learn how to play guys — staying between them and the basket, sometimes pressuring the guy. But offensively, we can put the ball in his hands.
“Look at the play just before the end of the half. Not a lot of guys can make that play, going to the basket. … He gives us something on offense. But we have to make sure he gives us something on defense, also.”
Behind Jefferson, the Jazz extended their lead in the third quarter.
It was only 71-64, though, when Millsap scored twice and forced a turnover that led to a Derrick Favors dunk.
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