Suns-Jazz Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Apr 04 2012 2:28AM

The Phoenix Suns are doing their best to make a push into playoff position in the Western Conference.

One team standing directly in their way is the Utah Jazz.

The visiting Suns have a chance to move ahead of the Jazz in the conference standings with a seventh consecutive victory in the series Wednesday night.

After losing four of six games to end March, Phoenix (27-26) beat New Orleans 92-75 on Sunday then followed that with a 109-100 victory at Sacramento on Tuesday to surpass the .500 mark for the third time this season.

"We needed this bad," said veteran Michael Redd, who scored 16 points off the bench against the Kings. "This league is all about having rhythm and we got it, and got the win."

Though Phoenix has won 15 of 22, it currently sits 10th in the West. However, the Suns are one-half game behind ninth-place Utah (28-26) and 1 1/2 back of Houston, which owns the eighth and final playoff spot.

Phoenix has missed the postseason two of the last three seasons.

"We know every game is critical," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "You have to treat every game like a playoff game. This group understands that urgency."

The Suns have a chance to move ahead of the Jazz in the standings if they can run their series winning streak to seven games over Utah. Phoenix has won three of four on the road overall, and three in a row at Utah by an average margin of 14 points.

Phoenix continued to build momentum Tuesday as Marcin Gortat had 20 points with 10 rebounds and Steve Nash added 18 with 12 assists as the Suns used a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter to pull away in Sacramento.

Despite the victory, Phoenix players agreed that the club needs to show some improvement after blowing a 17-point first-half lead and allowing Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins to score a career-high 41 points and rookie Isaiah Thomas to finish with 25.

"It was definitely a tough game," Gortat said. "We still need to work our defense. We've got to play smarter, play harder. Don't let this happen."

The Suns allowed Utah to shoot 52.2 percent and outrebound them 42-34, but pulled out a 120-111 home victory March 14 by shooting a season-high 56.4 percent in the teams' only previous meeting this season. Channing Frye scored 26 points, Gortat had 25, Jared Dudley finished with 21 and Steve Nash added 12 with 16 assists to help Phoenix overcome a 13-point deficit in that contest.

Nash, who bounced back Tuesday after back problems limited him to four or fewer points in three of the previous four games, has totaled 36 points on 12-of-21 shooting in the Suns' last two trips to Utah.

The Jazz snapped a three-game skid with a 102-97 win at Portland on Monday. Paul Millsap had 31 points, including the go-ahead dunk with 1:11 remaining, and pulled down 11 rebounds while Gordon Hayward scored 20.

"We needed this win bad, and it showed how we played out there," Millsap said. "The will not to lose, the will to make it to that next level to get in the playoffs, it came out."

Millsap had 18 points and 10 rebounds at Phoenix last month.

Hayward has averaged 18.0 points in the last four games overall.

Nash lifts Suns past Jazz, 107-105

By LYNN DeBRUIN
Posted Apr 04 2012 11:54PM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Steve Nash scored only 13 points but hit two shots in the final 14 seconds and the Phoenix Suns won their seventh straight meeting against Utah, 107-105 on Wednesday night to jump over the Jazz in the Western Conference playoff race.

The Suns (28-26) are in ninth place, a half-game ahead of the Jazz (28-27) and a game behind Denver, which lost Wednesday at New Orleans, and idle Houston. Phoenix also owns the tiebreaker with the Jazz.

Paul Millsap led Utah with 25 points and had a chance to force overtime, but his putback came just after the buzzer.

Michael Redd led the Suns with 19 points. Redd and Sebastian Telfair, who had nine points, combined for 14 points during a 14-2 run fourth-quarter run that put Phoenix up 97-87 with 6:43 remaining. Nash also had nine assists.

Millsap brought Utah back, even stealing the ball from Nash. Nash made amends, hitting the winner with 1.7 seconds left.

Nash looked as if he might be the goat after he had the ball stolen by Millsap, then committed a clear-path foul with 34 seconds left and Phoenix up by three.

Millsap made just one of two free throws, but Al Jefferson hit a jumper that tied it at 103 with 28 seconds left.

Nash responded with a 15-foot jumper with 14 seconds left.

Jefferson tied it again after Millsap fed him for an easy layup with 9.4 seconds left, only see Nash get the ball in the lane and hit the jumper with 1.7 seconds remaining.

C.J. Miles' last-ditch shot was well short, but Millsap grabbed it and put it in. Officials reviewed the play and determined it was after the buzzer.

Utah has 11 games remaining, with lowly Golden State up Friday night before a home-and home series with San Antonio, then a three-game trip starting April 11 in Houston. The Jazz also close out the regular season with four of five games at home, where they are 19-8.

The Suns have a seemingly tougher road. Nine of Phoenix's remaining games are against teams that would be in the playoffs if they started today.

They'll face the Jazz again on April 24 in Salt Lake City.

The Jazz had another slow start, falling behind by eight in the first quarter and nine in the second only to go on a 12-5 run and pull to 58-56 at the break.

The Suns had six 3-pointers in the first half, and held a 32-30 advantage in points in the paint.

They opened the second half on a 10-2 run to surge ahead 68-58.

Gordon Hayward, who started 6 of 9, hit his second 3-pointer to pull Utah within five at 68-65. And Miles' jam off an alley-oop pass from Earl Watson cut it to 3 again, but Nash hit back-to-back 3-pointers.

Watson, starting in place of injured point guard Devin Harris, brought the Jazz back. He blocked a shot and fed Hawyard for a jumper, and Hayward added a driving layup late as the Jazz finished the quarter down 83-80.

Miles finished with 22 points, and Hayward had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The Suns also hit 13 3-pointers to just three by the Jazz, with Nash, Redd and Channing Frye making three apiece.

Notebook: Suns 107, Jazz 105

Posted Thursday April 5, 2012 12:45AM

By Andrew Aragon, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Steve Nash made what could have been a game-costing mistake. He made amends, and gave the Phoenix Suns' playoff hopes a lift.

Nash hit the game-winning basket with 1.7 seconds left to give the Suns a 107-105 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. The Suns gained a full game on Utah and Denver, which lost to New Orleans, and a half-game on idle Houston in the Western Conference playoff race. It was Phoenix's seventh straight victory over Utah.

Phoenix had a balanced attack with seven players scoring in double figures. Reserve Michael Redd led the way with 19 points.

Paul Millsap nearly won the game for the Jazz with 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. Gordon Hayward had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "Steve made two big shots for us, which I've seen the last eight years. We actually had lost the ball [on the final possession] and he just picked it up. He's so conscientious of things going on. He jumped up and shot it in. That's not a surprise. I've seen it before."
-- Suns coach Alvin Gentry on Nash's game-winning heroics.

THE STAT: The Suns' balance and bench effort gave them a huge advantage over the Jazz. Phoenix's reserves outscored Utah's bench 46-20. The Jazz only played nine guys, and none of the four reserves scored in double figures. The Suns, meanwhile, got great lifts from Redd, Sebastian Telfair and rookie Markieff Morris.

TURNING POINT: In a wildly entertaining game that featured 20 lead changes, it was going to come down to who made plays late in the contest. Nash scored the game-winning points after Utah had deflected a pass on Phoenix's final possession. Nash regained possession, split two defenders and hit a running jumper before Utah could reset. After Nash's shot, Jared Dudley partially blocked a 3-point attempt by C.J. Miles that would have won the game for Utah. Millsap collected the loose ball and scored, but it came after time expired.

HOT: Marcin Gortat was efficient with 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting and eight rebounds. Millsap had 10 points, three rebounds and two steals in the fourth quarter. Hayward had one of his best games of the season, recording the first double-double of his career.

NOT: Jazz point guards Earl Watson and Jamaal Tinsley struggled, combining to shoot 1-for-5 while scoring seven points. They did, however, combine to dish 10 assists. Robin Lopez shot 1-for-5 for the Suns, but finished with seven points and seven rebounds.

BAD MOVE: Nash committed a clear-path foul on Millsap after the Jazz forward stole the ball from him with 34.8 seconds left. Phoenix led 103-100 at the time, and the foul gave Utah two free throws and possession. Millsap, however, made just one of the two free throws, and the Jazz only tied the game rather than taking the lead. Of course, Nash more than made up for the mistake later in the quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "We ran a play to get Channing [Frye] a shot and then Michael [Redd] a shot and neither of them got it. The ball kind of fumbled to me. I was able to get Millsap, I think, off his feet and I was able to lean in and just make one. I knew we didn't have a ton of time, but I didn't have to rush. I saw Gortat open under the basket, but I didn't want to mess around with it."
-- Suns guard Steve Nash on the play that put his team ahead.

ROOKIE WATCH: Morris entered the game in the first quarter and gave the Suns a boost. He topped his season average (6.9 points per game) by scoring nine of his 11 points in his first three minutes of play. Utah's Alec Burks played 19 minutes and scored six points.

QUOTABLE III: "I think to be over .500 right now we've overachieved. We are gaining confidence and we believe that we can keep winning. The spirit is good. Guys are sticking together and playing hard. When we were 12-19 it could have gone the other way."
-- Suns guard Steve Nash on the team's resurgence.

NOTABLE: Jazz starting point guard Devin Harris did not play after spraining his left ankle against Portland on Monday. It was the second home game in a row that the Jazz have had a last-second tip-in reviewed and called off. Miles had 22 points for the Jazz. Shannon Brown, starting for the injured Grant Hill, had 11 points to score in double figures for the sixth straight game.

UP NEXT: For the Suns, Friday @ Denver, Saturday vs. L.A. Lakers, Monday @ Minnesota. For the Jazz, Friday vs. Golden State, Sunday @ San Antonio, Monday vs. San Antonio.

• Suns: --
• Jazz: Bell

• Suns: Frye
• Jazz: --

• Lead Changes: 20
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
• Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #18 Matt Boland, #68 Marat Kogut
• Attendance: 19911
• Duration: 2:13