Utah Jazz return home, defeat Phoenix

The Utah Jazz snapped a three game losing streak on Monday night with an impressive 109-97 win over the Phoenix Suns at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City.  Phoenix started quickly, leading 32-23 after the first quarter but Utah stepped up their defensive play to outscore the Suns 34-22 in the second.  The outburst gave Utah a 57-54 halftime lead that they never relinquished.

The Jazz had struggled at the end of an Eastern road trip, losing their last three games and looking completely non-competitive.  They were playing without three starters—pointguard Deron Williams, center Mehmet Okur and forward Andrei Kirilenko—but Utah coach Jerry Sloan wasn’t about to accept that as an excuse.  Utah got Kirilenko back on Monday, and he responded with 19 points.  The team was led in both scoring and rebounding by Carlos Boozer, who scored 21 points and hauled in 15 boards.  The Suns were paced by Amare Stoudemire with 30 points and Steve Nash with 14.  The Jazz were especially effective in limiting Shaquille O’Neal’s output, holding him to nine points and 1 rebound. 

Boozer credited the team’s defense with the victory:

"It was all defense. We got stop after stop after stop. We get stops, we're good. If we don't get stops, then we get into trouble."

Jazz coach Sloan was pleased with his team’s tenacious play, but wondered where it had been over the past few games:

"Where's it been? That's the question I ask. Where was it? They're expected to do that every night."

The Suns’ Steve Nash noted the game’s unfavorable tempo as a reason for his team’s defeat:

"We don't really run that well. They're a good running team at home and we're not really a running team at the moment."

Utah is tied with the red hot Denver Nuggets atop the NBA’s Northwest Division with 7-4 records.  Portland is a game behind with a 6-5 record.  Phoenix dropped to 8-4 and despite their decent record trail the 8-1 LA Lakers in the Pacific Division.