Salt Lake City • Al Jefferson and Gordon Hayward each scored 25 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 103-88 victory over Phoenix on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena.
Looking for their first back-to-back wins since Feb. 13-19, the Jazz started quickly. Utah made its first six shots and took a 12-7 lead.
The Suns rallied and grabbed an 18-17 advantage with 6:40 left in the opening quarter, but Paul Millsap scored to start an 8-0 run.
The Suns eventually converted only two of their final 14 possessions and the Jazz inched away to a 34-23 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Utah lost second-year center Enes Kanter to an injury after he dove for a loose ball. Phoenix center Hamed Haddadi landed on Kanter, who suffered a dislocated left shoulder and did not return.
Meanwhile, the Suns went on a 13-4 run to narrow their deficit to 42-38.
Utah converted five of their last six possessions, however, and Randy Foye's three-point jumper at the buzzer gave the Jazz a 53-44 advantage at the half.
Jefferson had 14 points for Utah, while Hayward added 10. Luis Scola topped the Suns with 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting, mostly jumpers after pick-and-rolls.
In the third quarter, the Jazz seemingly remained in control. They owned a 75-63 lead with 2:13 left before the Suns scored the final eight points of the period to pull within four.
Leading 75-71, the Jazz turned to Jefferson.
He scored seven points, grabbed an offensive rebound and came up with a steal during a 10-0 run during a three-minute stretch, when Utah finally pulled away.