Suns 120, Jazz 111
SUNS 120, JAZZ 111: Channing Frye led the way with 26 points and nine rebounds as Phoenix inched closer to .500 and pulled even with Utah, 2 1/2 games behind the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference.
Marcin Gortat scored 25 points, Jared Dudley added 21 and Steve Nash handed out 16 assists as the Suns (20-22) won for the eighth time in 11 games.
The Jazz are stumbling in the other direction, having dropped three of four.
Phoenix grabbed control in the third quarter, as Frye and Dudley combined for five 3-pointers in the frame to take an 89-82 lead into the fourth.
Utah came back to tie it twice early in the final frame but Frye connected again from beyond the arc to make it 96-93 with 8:26 to play. The Suns never trailed again.
Phoenix scored on six straight possessions later in the frame, pushing it to 112-102 when Nash found Gortat for a layup with 2:54 to play. Nash clinched it at the free throw line, hitting all six shots in the final 52 seconds.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap scored 18 points apiece to lead the Jazz. … Phoenix shot 56.4 percent from the field, including 9 for 19 from beyond the arc. … Utah’s bench nearly outscored the starters, totaling 55 points.