The Suns suffered their fourth straight loss to the Jazz
Still without Chris Paul and Cameron Johnson, the Suns had all the trouble in the world to get rid of Jazz and his offshore game. Even Utah got off to the best start thanks to their exteriors (Jordan Clarkson, Malik Beasley and Talen Horton-Tucker), while Devin Booker struggled to find the target (2/10 in the first quarter).
The Suns quickly regrouped by pressing Deandre Ayton under the circle, and Phoenix connected again as Devin Booker returned to the circle on his way back from the locker room.
Except the Jazz didn’t let up despite their problems under the circle, and the two teams were still neck-and-neck in the money-time. So Lauri Markkanen found the colors late in the match, but a lot of missed baskets on both sides and offensive rebounds by Deandre Ayton finally ensured the success of the Suns.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– Utah was beaten near the circle. On a night without a title for the Suns (6/22 to 3-point …), Phoenix won this matchup. Deandre Ayton applied his strength against Kelly Olynyk or Lauri Markkanen, and his offensive rebounds (9 total) were invaluable in denying the Jazz possessions that could have given them a win. Two statistics confirm this observation: 62 points in the paint for the Suns, 44 points for the Jazz; and the offensive rebound difference between the two teams: 18 for Phoenix vs. 8 for Utah.
– The sun strengthens its place, Jazz slips. In the West, the hierarchy is slowly returning to its place. While not always pretty, the Suns are still atop the West, now 13 wins to 6 losses. Will Hardy’s Jazz, who were the leaders of the conference a while ago and were a big surprise at the start of the campaign, dropped to 8th place with their fourth straight loss.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Deandre Ayton. What is the pivot still for in the NBA? Deandre Ayton came to remind him, hitting Utah’s very soft rocket with 29 points on 11/19 shooting and 21 rebounds, including 9 offensive. This is the first Sun since Amar’e Stoudemire in 2007 to post a double-double with +28 points and +20 rebounds.
✅ Jordan Clarkson. Frankly, it was hard to imagine Jordan Clarkson being anything other than a walking firecracker, if not necessarily very effective, after seeing him draw on the bench at the slightest opportunity. But this season, he’s shown to be much more than that, and he proved it once again last night with 22 points (8/18), 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Also the best of the match at +9.
⛔ Phoenix shooters. It is a good sign that the Sun won this match despite such a poor exterior address. The Payne / Booker duo thus combined points from an ugly 2/13 to 3. Enough to finish with a distant 6/22 (27%). Luckily, Deandre Ayton was there to grab the rebounds…
NEXT
Phoenix (13-6): The Suns will look for their fifth straight win in Sacramento on Monday night
Utah (12-10): The Jazz will look to bounce back Monday night at home against Chicago
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