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Quin Snyder chalked it up to human nature. Gordon Hayward cited injury issues, plus the fatigue of playing on consecutive nights.

The Utah Jazz defeated the Phoenix Suns 112-105 on Tuesday before an announced crowd of 18,997 at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz never trailed in their seventh win in eight games, and there was only one tie score.

Seems like your normal win over a young and struggling team, right? Wrong.

Utah, for the third straight game, blew a sizable double-digit lead down the stretch, and was in danger of losing. Last Saturday night, the Jazz were forced to hold on against the Denver Nuggets, who rallied from 23 points down to within five. On Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers nearly came back from a 19-point deficit. The Suns on Tuesday were down by 23 points and came back to tie the game at 103 on Leandro Barbosa's jumper with 2:46 left in the fourth quarter.

"We have to just not relax, and still guard people," Hayward said. "We have to do the same things that got us the lead in the first place. Tonight, Phoenix got to the rim and they got kickouts for threes. Part of it is that's what they do. Part of that is we got in really late last night on a back-to-back. We fought to get the lead that we had and that's good. But we have to keep playing that way all night."

It can be considered progress that the Jazz were able to right themselves in all three games and come away with wins. And they were able to rely on different sources for big plays.

On Monday night in Los Angeles, Rodney Hood made two huge shots down the stretch to preserve the win. Against the Suns, Joe Johnson made the big play defensively, coming up with a clutch steal and feeding Hayward for a dunk to give the Jazz a 105-103 advantage.

The next offensive possession, Shelvin Mack drove the lane and dropped in a floater. Rudy Gobert made two free throws, giving the Jazz a 6-0 run and a 109-103 advantage. Gobert then put an exclamation point on the rally, catching an alley-oop pass from Mack and dunking it backwards.

The Jazz's late run was enough to stop the Suns. But the crowd, which had been expectant all night, left with more anxiety than they had previously bargained for.

"When you have some separation in this league, it's easier to let down," Snyder said. "The really good teams are able to overcome that. I don't think we're there, but tonight we found a way to close. It's a half-empty, half-full thing. We gave up a big lead, but a lot of times teams can't find a way to turn it around. We were able to do that at the end, and come back with a run of our own."

As it has been for so many games this season, the night wasn't injury-free for the Jazz. Hood left in the second half with hamstring tightness and did not return. His presence was missed down the stretch, as the Suns loaded up defensively on Hayward and dared others to beat them from the perimeter.

Hayward also re-aggravated his previously broken finger, and had to miss a portion of the game to undergo X-rays. Although he returned, he was clearly in pain for the remainder of the game.

"It was stinging, so I just wanted to make sure everything was fine before I came back," Hayward said.

Through it all, Hayward and Gobert were the two best players on the floor and carried the Jazz whenever needed. Hayward scored 28 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists.

Gobert scored a career-high 22 points, while grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking four shots. He went 10 of 11 from the free-throw line, and notched the third 20-point, 10-rebound game of his career. Johnson and Boris Diaw scored 13 points apiece, and Mack had 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting.

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Storylines

R Rudy Gobert registers a plus-20 overall, a game-high.

• Devin Booker leads Phoenix with 21 points.

• The Jazz shoot 12 of 27 from 3-point range.

• Utah scores 94 points through three quarters, then 18 in the fourth quarter.