Suns at Jazz
The Utah Jazz reached the point where just winning isn't good enough, and the way the team plays is more important as they try to establish themselves as one of the top teams in the Western Conference. The Jazz will try to put together a consistent effort and pick up their third straight win when they host the Phoenix Suns on Saturday.
Utah edged the lowly Los Angeles Lakers 102-100 on Tuesday and needed a strong finishing kick to dispatch the NBA-worst Philadelphia 76ers 100-83 at home on Thursday. "We're not that good of a team right now," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters after Thursday's triumph. "We're OK. But I don't think we're playing great basketball. We played a good quarter tonight. I think we've played better in spurts, but I think we need to pick it up." The Suns are trying to avoid the basement in the Western Conference and won for the second time in eight games when they knocked off the Toronto Raptors 99-91 on Thursday. The triumph marked an improved defensive effort for Phoenix, which allowed 100 or more points in each of its previous 15 games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE SUNS (10-23): Phoenix is last in the Western Conference in scoring defense, allowing an average of 113.6 points, but limited the Eastern Conference's top-scoring team to 40 percent from the field and 7-of-27 from 3-point range on Thursday. "We did a great job of playing great team defense," Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe told reporters. "They missed some open ones, but they didn't get everything they wanted." Bledsoe committed eight turnovers in the win but collected his second double-double in the last four games with 22 points and 10 assists.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (20-13): Utah is getting healthy and finally got point guard George Hill back on Thursday from a sprained toe that cost him the previous 13 games. Hill's return gave the Jazz their preferred starting five for only the second time this season, and he was sharp in his return with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals in 29 minutes. "It's great to have (Hill) back," forward Gordon Hayward told the Salt Lake Tribune. "The way he was playing before, we need him to keep that up and he did that tonight."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Phoenix rookie PG Tyler Ulis matched a season high with 10 points in 15 minutes on Thursday - one more minute than in the previous five games combined.
2. Jazz C Rudy Gobert went 3-of-11 from the free-throw line on Thursday and finished with nine points and 13 rebounds, ending a string of 11 straight double-doubles.
3. Utah took the last five in the series, including a 112-105 triumph at home on Dec. 6.