Johnson heats up late, pushes Jazz past Suns
PHOENIX -- Joe Johnson scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 49 seconds left, and the Utah Jazz held off the Phoenix Suns 106-101 on Monday.
Rudy Gobert led seven Utah players in double figures with 18 points. He added 17 rebounds and blocked a Marquese Chriss shot with eight seconds left to secure the win for the Jazz (27-16).
Gordon Hayward and George Hill each scored 17 points for the Jazz, who trailed by as many as 10 points in the third quarter before rallying to tie their longest winning streak of the season at four games. The NBA's No. 1 defense held the Suns to 21 fourth-quarter points.
Eric Bledsoe tied a season high with 31 points and added nine rebounds and nine assists for the Suns (13-28). Devin Booker followed back-to-back games of 39 points in Mexico City with 25 more on Monday, but Phoenix couldn't hold off the Jazz in the end.
Phoenix took its last lead at 101-99 on a T.J. Warren steal and layup with 1:13 left. The Suns didn't score again, and Johnson's 3-pointer put Utah ahead for good.
The Suns missed seven of their first eight shots and the Jazz jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead when Joe Ingles feed Hayward for an alley-oop dunk. However, after making four shots in the first four minutes, Utah made only four the rest of the quarter while Bledsoe started to heat up.
Bledsoe had Phoenix's first 10 points and then tied the game at 17 on a 3-point play to cap a 10-2 Suns run. Bledsoe finished with 12 points in the quarter and the Suns led 28-24.
P.J. Tucker added six points and seven rebounds off the bench as Phoenix pushed its lead to six three times in the second quarter. Boris Diaw responded with eight points and three assists off the bench for the Jazz, but Bledsoe's driving lay-in with 27.6 seconds gave the Suns a 53-47 lead at the half.
Bledsoe had 18 points, five assists and five rebounds at intermission.
Warren had nine points in the third quarter as the Suns pushed their lead to as many as 10 points. Phoenix still led 74-67 after a Warren jumper with 3:27 left. But Ingles had 11 in the quarter, including three 3-pointers, two in the final 2:52 to pull Utah to within 80-79 after three.
NOTES: Phoenix C Tyson Chandler, who had at least 15 rebounds in five straight games, missed Monday's game with a stomach flu a day after the Suns returned from their trip to Mexico City. Alex Len started in place of Chandler and scored six points. ... Utah G Rodney Hood didn't make the trip to Phoenix after sustaining a hyperextension and bone contusion on his right knee in the 114-107 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday. Joe Ingles started in place of Hood and had 11 points. ... Last week, Suns G Devin Booker became the youngest player in NBA history (20 years, 76 days) to score at least 39 in two straight games. Bernard King had held the mark at 20 years, 335 days. Booker has four career games of 38 points or more at 20 years old, joining LeBron James as the only NBA players to do so. ... G Gordon Hayward, who averaged 23.7 points in three Utah wins, was selected the Western Conference Player of the Week.