Jazz 103, Suns 69
SALT LAKE CITY -- Rookie Trey Lyles scored 17 points off the bench and the Utah Jazz won their fourth straight game by obliterating the Phoenix Suns 103-69 on Thursday.
Utah improved to 33-35 and moved within one game of idle Dallas and Houston for the final playoff spot in the West despite playing without leading scorer Gordon Hayward for the second straight game.
Phoenix's point total was the lowest for a Utah opponent all season. The previous low was 71 by Philadelphia on Oct. 30. It was also the largest win of the season points-wise for Utah, whose previous biggest margin of victory was 29.
Shane Mack, picked up in a trade on the deadline day last month, continued his strong play of late for the Jazz. He flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Joe Ingles, who's started for Hayward the past two games, had a season-high 15 points and a career-high six steals. Rudy Gobert added nine points, 16 rebounds and three blocks.
Brandon Knight led the Suns with 17 points and Jon Leuer chipped in 14, but Phoenix lost for the fourth time in five games. The Suns dropped to 18-50.
The Jazz held the Suns to 31 points in the second half and 34.1 percent shooting in the rout.
The Jazz blew it open in the third quarter by opening the second half with a 10-0 run. Ingles started the spurt off with a 3-pointer and Utah held a comfortable 56-38 after Derrick Favors (12 points) hit a short jumper.
Utah, which has turned its season around after losing 10 of 13 games recently, finished strong by outscoring Phoenix 32-15 in the fourth quarter.
Next up for the Jazz is a tough five-game road trip, beginning Saturday in Chicago. The Suns play the Lakers in Los Angeles on Friday.
NOTES: Jazz SG Gordon Hayward missed his second game with plantar fasciitis in his right foot after not missing any action in the first 66 games. "He's played with this for a while and it may never completely be better," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "But there is a point where you become ineffective because of the pain. He's reached that point and is still at that point right now." ... Suns interim coach Earl Watson said he had a vision for SG Devin Booker when he worked with the rookie as an assistant this season. "Handling the ball was one of those visions we talked about. He accepted it and he worked on it and grew." ... The Jazz wore their green road jerseys to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. ... Watson played for Utah near the end of his NBA career. He averaged 3.3 points and 3.8 assists in a backup point guard role from 2010-13.