Kevin Durant recorded 26 points and seven assists in three quarters to help the Phoenix Suns trounce the visiting Utah Jazz 126-104 on Saturday night.
Eric Gordon scored all 21 of his points in the first half as the Suns defeated Utah for the 10th time in the past 12 meetings. Grayson Allen scored 14 of his 17 points in the third quarter for Phoenix, which has won two of its first three games.
The Suns led by as many as 33 points despite playing without Devin Booker (ankle) for the second straight game and Bradley Beal (back) for the third consecutive time.
Lauri Markkanen made five 3-pointers for the second straight game while scoring 19 points for the Jazz, who have lost two of their first three games.
Collin Sexton scored 14 points, Simone Fontecchio had 13 and Keyonte George added 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Utah. John Collins registered 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who connected on 44 percent of their shots and made 12 of 37 from behind the arc.
Jordan Goodwin notched 12 points, five rebounds and five assists for Phoenix. Drew Eubanks also had 12 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Suns, who shot 52.9 percent from the field and were 10 of 37 from 3-point range.
The Suns shot 92.9 percent (26 of 28) from the free-throw line. The Jazz were 12 of 14 for 85.7 percent.
Gordon was 9-of-12 shooting in the first half and Durant had 14 points as the Suns led 66-50 at the break. Markkanen had 12 in the half for Utah.
Phoenix scored the final seven points of the first half and the initial 11 of the third quarter to build a 27-point advantage. Allen capped the 18 consecutive points with a catch-and-shoot trey to make it 77-50 with 8:53 left in the period.
Allen’s dunk stretched the advantage to 30 for the first time at 85-55 with 7:10 remaining in the quarter. Durant scored 12 points in the period.
The Suns led 106-78 entering the final stanza and continued to hold a big edge as both teams cleared the benches.
–Field Level Media
