by Kimya Oliver
The Utah Jazz fell to the Phoenix Suns 115-109.
The Crossover: Utah Jazz by the Numbers
Off a loose ball, Trent Forrest made a running layup to get the Jazz offense started. The Suns opened the first quarter on an 11-4 run.
The Jazz struggled to stop the Suns from attacking the basket. Jared Butler made a quick step back and let it fly from three to sink the shot. The first quarter ends with the Jazz trailing, 31-21.
Butler opened the second quarter on a pull-up three-pointer. The Suns would not allow the Jazz to get within reach.
Elijah Hughes would make a three-pointer and Chris Paul answered by also hitting the shot from beyond the arc. With less than two minutes on the clock, Forrest tipped a layup in off a missed shot to cut the deficit to two points. The first half ended with the Jazz trailing 58-56.
Clarkson made a fadeaway jumper to open the third quarter. The Jazz started to gain offensive momentum. Forrest grabbed the defensive rebound and drove to the basket to make a floater jumper to give the Jazz a one-point lead.
Clarkson poked the ball away from Devin Booker for the steal and made an easy layup on the other end. With 25 seconds left, Butler made a quick move to get free from his defender and sink the shot from deep. The third quarter ended with the Jazz leading 87-85.
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Off a defensive rebound, Gay brought the ball up the court to make a jumper.
The Suns started to get stops and attack the basket and took a 98-95 lead with eight minutes to go in the ball game. The Suns extended their lead to 11 points with 3:30 left in the game.
Clarkson hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Suns lead to five with one minute left. The Suns recognized Clarkson getting hot, so they shut him down for the last minute of the game.
The Daily Double-Double
Clarkson finished with 22 points and Forrest had 17 points. Hassan Whiteside was just one rebound shy of a double-double.
Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanović, Joe Ingles, and Royce O’Neale were all out due to injury.
Bounce Pass: Up Next
The Jazz will be facing the Phoenix Suns for a rematch on Jan. 26 at 8 p.m MST.
Featured image courtesy Matt York, Associated Press