It took a little while for the Jazz to get going, but once they did, Phoenix didn't have a chance.
Utah grabbed a double-digit lead in the second quarter and didn't look back, cruising to a decisive 116-88 win over the Suns Thursday night in Salt Lake City.
The Jazz (39-30) have now won eight straight and 20 of their last 22 games—and they currently sit in seventh place in the Western Conference standings.
Rudy Gobert continued his dominant play, finishing with 21 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks in 34 minutes. Ricky Rubio notched his third double-double in the past week with 12 points, five rebounds, 11 assists and four steals.
Donovan Mitchell stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block, while Joe Ingles added 17 points and Jae Crowder scored 15 off the bench in the win.
TJ Warren (19 points) and Josh Jackson (17 points) led the way for Phoenix (19-51) in the loss.
Thursday's Best
Danté Exum, who injured his shoulder during the preseason, made his season debut for the Jazz. The 22-year-old guard finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes off the bench. Exum shook off the rust, survived a scary fall (when he was undercut by Jackson whilst driving to the rim for a layup), and showed off the versatility that everyone has been waiting for.
Key Stretches
The Jazz trailed by three after one quarter, but they turned it on in the second period. Ingles sank a three, Mitchell hit a fadeaway jumper, and Crowder slashed to the rim for a layup to get Utah going. Gobert stuffed home a one-handed jam in traffic and Crowder made a transition layup. Rubio canned a three, while Mitchell threw down two dunks and drilled a 3-pointer of his own to give Utah a 15-point lead. In all, the Jazz outscored the Suns 36-20 in the second quarter.
Utah kept pouring it on in the third quarter, extending the lead to 23 within three minutes behind a driving layup by Mitchell, a reverse slam by Derrick Favors, a three from the wing by Rubio, and a steal and slam by Gobert.
Phoenix pulled within 13 late in the third, but the Jazz went on a quick 12-1 run to put the game away. Mitchell drilled a long three and scored two buckets at the rim—including one of the best layups you'll ever see. Crowder also hit a three and Gobert tipped in an alley-oop from Mitchell. The Jazz would cruise from there, leading by as many as 31 en route to the 28-point victory.
Significant Stats
29
The Jazz continued to share the ball, finishing with 29 assists (well above their season average of 21.7). Rubio led the way with 11 assists, which tied his season high.
38.6
Utah held Phoenix to only 38.6 percent shooting and forced 22 turnovers, which led to 19 points. The Jazz, meanwhile, only turned the ball over seven times.
17.8
During their eight-game win streak, the Jazz have an average margin of victory of 17.8 points. They've won one game by 30+ points, two games by 20+ points, and two games by 15+ points.
Coach's Quote of the Night
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder
Notable
Ingles shot 4-for-9 from 3-point range, and the Jazz are now 27-9 when he makes 3+ threes. ... Mitchell scored 20+ points for the 35th time this season. ... Marquese Chriss and Jared Dudley were both ejected for flagrant fouls on Rubio after Chriss hurt himself while botching a dunk midway through the third quarter. Ingles and Mitchell also picked up technical fouls on the play. ... Crowder has now scored in double figures in 12 of his 14 games with the Jazz. ... Utah shot only 62.5 percent (20-for-32) from the free-throw line. ... The Jazz finished with 12 steals (Rubio had four) and eight blocks (Gobert, Favors and Royce O'Neale each had two).
Up Next
The Jazz will stay at home to face the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm MT.
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