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For so much of this season, the Utah Jazz have had to scratch and claw for wins. Nothing has come easy for a team playing short-handed with one of the most difficult schedules in the NBA to date.
That made Monday night's 110-89 win over the Phoenix Suns so much more joyous to the players, the coaching staff, and the sellout crowd at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Because it was done with ease, without a single tense moment.
The victory over Phoenix amounted to a pre-Christmas celebration of sorts. From Raul Neto's one-legged jumpers, to Gordon Hayward's team-high 24 points, to Alec Burks' scene-stealing dunk over Jon Leuer. The Jazz were never in danger of losing to a Suns team that looked like they wanted to be doing anything other than playing basketball.
"We needed this," Utah forward Trevor Booker said. "We went on a four-game losing streak, and that was difficult to go through. We didn't get down on ourselves. We stayed focused and we stayed working hard. But it was still difficult to go through it. So we're fortunate we could have a win like this."
This was a game that was over from the opening tip. The Jazz scored 12 of the first 14 points and eventually built the lead to as much as 24. Phoenix made a run, cutting the deficit to single digits multiple times in the second quarter. But with a 54-43 halftime advantage, Utah began the second half on a 12-0 run. That 66-43 advantage was too much for the Suns to muster another rally against.
An extended version of garbage time ensued from the middle of the third quarter until the final buzzer. But buried in the blowout was the continuity showed by Utah's starting unit. The Jazz starters moved the ball beautifully against the Phoenix defense, consistently finding open shots, either at the rim or on the perimeter. With Hayward and Derrick Favors — who scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds — showing the way, Utah's first unit vastly outplayed the Suns starters.
"I thought we had a lot of focus defensively tonight," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "That's where it was for the most part. When we're precise and committed like that, usually good things can happen. And that's where it was tonight."
Monday represented one of the first times this season when the Jazz played well off more than one day of rest. It was Utah's second wire-to-wire win of the season, with the first coming against the New Orleans Pelicans just after Thanksgiving.
Hayward is at the heart of that, with his play of late. He's scored 20 points or more in four consecutive games, and he set the tone offensively Monday night with 12 points in the opening quarter.
Becoming more vocal by the game, Hayward has been saying for weeks he wanted to see his team push a lead out, to step on an opponent and show a killer instinct. The Jazz accomplished that on Monday night.
"We passed the ball really well," Hayward said. "We were all moving, and we got some layups. We got some threes, scored a to in different ways. That's what we want. We want variety, and I thought tonight, we did that pretty well."
The Jazz move to 12-14 on the season with the win, their second consecutive victory after breaking the season-long four game slide. Booker and Favors - when speaking of Monday's performance - both conceded the win over Phoenix was important, especially with a trip to NBA champion Golden State on the horizon for Wednesday night.
"I thought we played a good game," Favors said. "It was one of the games that we needed. We came out and played really well early on. It was a real team effort."
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