Not with two-time MVP Steve Nash skipping this trip with stomach flu, Grant Hill out two to three weeks after undergoing an appendectomy and Shawn Marion a late scratch with an injured right elbow.

So much for the Suns' only visit to Salt Lake City this season and the ratings for the nationally televised game on TNT. The Jazz were more than happy, though, to take an easy 108-86 victory, their fourth win in the last five games.

Then again, the final score might as well have been 10-9, advantage Jazz, as far as the number of players each team had in uniform. The Jazz came apart in the second quarter before regrouping in the third quarter and building a 26-point lead.

For their part, the Jazz were missing regulars Andrei Kirilenko, who sat out his third game with a lower back injury, and Matt Harpring, whose wife delivered their second child, a yet-to-be named baby girl, Thursday night.

"We had a couple out. They had a couple out,'' Carlos Boozer said succinctly. "The great thing about it is we maintained our focus and we took care of business."

With no Nash, no Marion and no Hill, Phoenix was left to account for a missing 49.0 points, 18.5 rebounds and 17.6 assists. They came in averaging a league-leading 110.7 points per game, but could muster only 86 points on 36.1 percent shooting Thursday.

Ronnie Brewer matched a career-high with 21 points while Mehmet Okur finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds.

Okur posted up Amare Stoudemire for a dunk and reverse layup in the first half and was asked, 'Who was that player?' after the game.

"That was my brother," Okur shot back, adding, "Really felt good out there tonight. I start the ball game, I got to the free-throw line, I got offensive rebound. Then I step back. That's how I got to start every game like that."

The Jazz (20-17) took a 12-point first-quarter lead by overpowering the Suns inside. They scored 22 of 35 points in the paint, but reverted to old habits once Phoenix opened the second quarter in a zone defense.

They went 1-for-15 - yes, 1-for-15 - with four turnovers and left Jazz coach Jerry Sloan flailing his hands wildly during a timeout with 5:47 left, trying to emphasize just how aimlessly his players were launching jumpers.

"I was really disappointed in what we thought our zone offense was about,'' Sloan said. "Dribble the ball down the floor and first guy who catches it, shoots it."

Zone-busting shooter Kyle Korver went 0-for-5 in the quarter and missed four three-pointers. "I haven't gotten that many good looks in a long time,'' Korver said. "I was probably a little bit anxious, shot them a little bit quick maybe."

The Jazz finally got a breakthrough basket when C.J. Miles dunked on Stoudemire as part of a three-point play. Three minutes later, Miles offered an alley-oop dunk as an encore. The Jazz took a 58-48 lead into halftime and pulled away in the third quarter.

Leandro Barbosa and Marcus Banks started at guard for the Suns, who went just seven players deep in the first half and wound up playing Brian Skinner, Eric Piatkowski, Sean Marks and D.J. Strawberry all at least a quarter each.

"You do what you got to do,'' Sloan said, adding, "I wish every team was healthy and I wish every team had all their players every night. That's a better indication of who you are."

At the same time, Sloan said he was starting to see signs that the Jazz were shedding the "boredom" with which they played in December. "Our guys look a little bit more energized to play,'' he said, "and hopefully they can pull together and move forward."

rsiler@sltrib.com

It starts at the point

Phoenix's Steve Nash sat out Thursday. Here's how his replacements, Leandro Barbosa and Marcus Banks, and Jazz counterpart Deron Williams fared:

Nash Barb./Banks Williams

Min 34.1 38/38 35

Pts 16.7 25/9 17

FG% .509 .389/.272 .583

FT% .892 .800/.500 .500

Ast 12.0 5/3 11

TO 3.6 3/2 2