This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake City • Al Jefferson and Gordon Hayward each scored 25 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 103-88 victory over Phoenix on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena.
Looking for their first back-to-back wins since Feb. 13-19, the Jazz started quickly. Utah made its first six shots and took a 12-7 lead.
The Suns rallied and grabbed an 18-17 advantage with 6:40 left in the opening quarter, but Paul Millsap scored to start an 8-0 run.
The Suns eventually converted only two of their final 14 possessions and the Jazz inched away to a 34-23 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Utah lost second-year center Enes Kanter to an injury after he dove for a loose ball. Phoenix center Hamed Haddadi landed on Kanter, who suffered a dislocated left shoulder and did not return.
Meanwhile, the Suns went on a 13-4 run to narrow their deficit to 42-38.
Utah converted five of their last six possessions, however, and Randy Foye's three-point jumper at the buzzer gave the Jazz a 53-44 advantage at the half.
Jefferson had 14 points for Utah, while Hayward added 10. Luis Scola topped the Suns with 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting, mostly jumpers after pick-and-rolls.
In the third quarter, the Jazz seemingly remained in control. They owned a 75-63 lead with 2:13 left before the Suns scored the final eight points of the period to pull within four.
Leading 75-71, the Jazz turned to Jefferson.
He scored seven points, grabbed an offensive rebound and came up with a steal during a 10-0 run during a three-minute stretch, when Utah finally pulled away.