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BY STEVE KLAUKE
Tonight’s game wraps up the 82-game regular season schedule for both teams as well as the four-game season series. (The March 19 meeting in Phoenix came after print deadline.)
The Jazz claimed the first game at EnergySolutions Arena 124-115 on January 25. It was a contest that Phoenix seemingly had in control. A Channing Frye three pointer with 2:38 left in the third quarter gave the Suns a 17-point advantage, but Utah scored the last 12 points of the period to pull to within five to start the fourth quarter.
Andrei Kirilenko scored the first four points of the final quarter to get the Jazz back to within one. Wesley Matthews hit a trey with 7:59 left to tie the game, but Goran Dragic buried one of his six three pointers just eight seconds later to regain the lead for Phoenix. Down two with 5:49 left, Utah scored seven consecutive points on a pair of freethrows each by Kirilenko and Matthews with the rookie from Marquette hitting from beyond the arc to put the Jazz in front to stay. Utah outscored Phoenix 66-46 in the second half and 33-19 in the fourth quarter to procure the win.
Kirilenko led the Jazz with 25 points while Carlos Boozer added 21 points and 20 rebounds. Dragic paced the Suns with 32 points.
The Jazz also staged a dramatic comeback in their 116-108 victory down in the Valley of the Sun on March 4. Utah trailed by 11 to start the fourth quarter, but Deron Williams opened the period by making back-to-back three pointers. The Suns were able to stretch their lead back to 10 with seven minutes remaining in the game before the Jazz tied the game on a 10-0 run.
Utah was able to take the lead 109-106 on another Williams’ trey with 1:37 left to play, but Grant Hill’s jumper 13 second later brought Phoenix back to within one. That would be it for the Suns, however, as the Jazz scored the last seven points of the game to seal their fourth win in their last seven visits to US Airways Arena.
Williams led the Jazz with 27 points while Amar’e Stoudemire paced Phoenix with 30.
Boozer told NBA.com after that game that each of the first two meetings was eerily similar.
We've played this team twice and both times they were able to jump out and somehow we were able to come back. Let me tell you, they have been some incredible games," Boozer said.
Coach Alvin Gentry has returned the Suns to the high-flying ways they enjoyed under Mike D’Antoni. As of press time, Phoenix was the top scoring team in the NBA at 109.4 per game, but they had allowed the third highest average at 106. The sharp-shooting Suns have the second best field goal percentage at just under 49 percent and they are the top three point shooting team at a little more than 40 percent. Phoenix scored 100 or most points in 58 of their first 67 games. At times, the Suns have struggled to take care of their possessions as they have the second worst turnover differential at minus 2.01.
Ageless wonder, Steve Nash, is having another All-Star season at the point. He has started every game, but one for the Suns, and is their second leading scorer at 17 points per game. Nash continues to battle Chris Paul for the NBA assist lead at just over 11 per game. He also had a big assist for his native Canada as he helped light the torch at the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
Another All-Star, Stoudemire has started every game for Phoenix this season and is having another great all-around year. Despite playing through numerous trade rumors earlier this season, he is the Suns’ leading scorer at just over 22 points, while topping the Suns on the glass with nearly nine rebounds per game.
Jason Richardson starts at the two guard spot and has played his role well. He is averaging 15.5 points while hitting 47 percent from the field, well above his career norm of 43 percent.
Veteran swingman Hill has been rock steady at small forward. He is contributing nearly 12 points while still putting in more than 30 minutes per game.
Second-year pro Robin Lopez has solidified himself as the Suns’ starting center at eight points and four and one-half rebounds in just 19 minutes per game. Frye, who now backs up Lopez, gets the lion’s share of the minutes at the post position and is Phoenix’s leading scorer off the bench at over 11 points per game.
Dragic, Jared Dudley and Louis Amundson have also played well in reserve, possibly making this the deepest bench in Suns’ history. By the time this game is played, Phoenix should have also regained the services of guard Leandro Barbosa, who missed two months after surgery was done to remove a ganglion cyst from his right wrist.
Suns Fun Fact: With a 101-85 win over Denver on March 1, the Suns have won each of their last 10 home games against the Nuggets. The only team against which the Suns have a longer current home winning streak is the Bucks, who have lost their last 22 games in Phoenix.
LAST MEETING:
Game #69 March 19, 2010 US Airways Center (PHOENIX) Phoenix Suns 110, Utah Jazz 100
Amar’e Stoudemire scored a season-high 44 points as the Suns defeated the Jazz for the first time this season. Utah fell behind by 10
in the first quarter and never caught momentum there after and trailed the entire game. Starter Andrei Kirilenko was again missing
from the starting line-up with a muscle strain in his left calf and Mehmet Okur left early in the first quarter due to a stomach virus. The
Jazz missed all of their nine attempts from three-point range and only shot .368 for the game. Stoudemire’s 44 points is the highest by
a Jazz opponent this season.
ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES:
Utah is 71-80 all-time against the Suns with a 49-26 record at home and 22-54 mark on the road … The Jazz
has won the last four games in Utah has won one out of the last four in Phoenix … Before Utah’s win in Phoenix on March 4, the last
time the Jazz had won in Phoenix was in March of 2008 … The Suns have had a different leading scorer in each of the past six out of
seven meetings … Coach Sloan is 48-46 against the Suns in his coaching career.
CONNECTIONS:
Jazz assistant coach Tyrone Corbin played for the Suns from 1987-89 after he was acquired from Cleveland along with
future Suns great Kevin Johnson, Mark West, 1988 first- and second-round draft choices and a 1989 second-round draft choice to the
Phoenix Suns for Larry Nance, Mike Sanders and a 1988 first-round draft choice on 2/25/88 … He was selected by the Minnesota
Timberwolves from the Suns in the NBA Expansion Draft on 6/15/89 … Legendary Jazz broadcaster “Hot” Rod Hundley worked on the
Suns broadcasts from 1969-74 … Suns F Grant Hill and Jazz F Carlos Boozer are both former Duke Blue Devils … Suns C Jarron Collins
spent his first eight seasons in the league with the Jazz averaging 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 480 games … The Jazz drafted
Collins in the second round (53rd overall) in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft … Suns F Louis Amundson signed two 10-day
contracts with the Jazz during the 2006-2007 season … Amundson played for two minutes in one game with the Jazz.
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