Jazz 110, Suns 89
SALT LAKE CITY -- Forward Gordon Hayward scored 24 points, and the Utah Jazz won consecutive games for the first time in December with a 110-89 rout of the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.
Hayward opened the game with a 3-pointer and scored 12 points in the first quarter to put the Jazz in control from the beginning. The Jazz (12-14) never trailed.
Hayward hit eight of 16 shots and also finished with four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Center Derrick Favors contributed 18 points and nine rebounds, while guard Rodney Hood added 14 points.
Utah guard Alec Burks had the highlight of the game with a late throw-down that brought fans and teammates off of their feet. Burks finished with 13 points.
The Jazz hadn't won consecutive games since beating the Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 25 and 28. Utah beat Denver on Friday to snap a four-game losing streak.
Guard Brandon Knight, playing a reserve role for a change, had a huge game for the Suns. He led all scorers with 26 points.
Phoenix (12-18) dropped its second game in a row.
Forward Mirza Teletovic also gave the Suns some spark off the bench with 17 points and seven rebounds, but Phoenix shot 39.2 percent from the field.
Utah shot 45.6 percent overall and was 9-for-25 from 3-point territory.
The Jazz established themselves with runs at the beginning of each half.
Utah scored the game's first seven points and took an early 14-2 lead before going ahead by as many as 18 in the opening half.
The Jazz had an even bigger start to the second half, bursting out to an 11-0 spurt to seize a 20-point lead.
Knight gave Phoenix its first points of the second half with a jumper four-plus minutes into the third quarter.
NOTES: The Suns pulled a surprise with the starting lineup, inserting rookie G Devin Booker for G Brandon Knight. Booker became the youngest Sun to ever start on Nov. 23 (19 years, 24 days), and he scored six points in 13 minutes. ... Jazz players Alec Burks, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and Joe Ingles bought 60 tickets apiece for the remaining home games to be donated to local youths and charities. Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey also bought a block of tickets to give to school teachers and staff. In all, 11,000-plus people will get to watch Jazz games through their generosity. ... F/C Derrick Favors on playing against the Suns, who have multiple former Jazz guys in their organization, including coaches Jeff Hornacek and Earl Watson. "Now they know a lot of stuff about your game (and) they can go in there and tell the team, 'OK, he likes to do this, he likes to do that. Take away this, take away that.' I don't like it."