Mitchell, Gobert lead surging Jazz over Suns 118-114

PHOENIX (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 14 rebounds and the Utah Jazz stayed hot with a 118-114 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

Utah has won eight of its past nine games and improved to 38-22. Phoenix — which still has the best record in the NBA at 49-12 — has lost back-to-back games for the first time in two months.

Utah's been a little inconsistent this season, but is playing well now that its deep roster is mostly healthy. Jordan Clarkson had 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting — part of the Utah second unit that played well and outscored Phoenix's bench 43-11.

The Jazz used an 16-3 run late in the third quarter to take a 94-89 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. It stayed tight throughout most of the final minutes but the Jazz were able to keep their lead, helped by Mitchell's banked-in 3-pointer with 1:50 remaining that put them up 10.

The Jazz shot 17 of 40 (42.5%) from 3-point range. Mitchell made six of them.

Devin Booker led Phoenix with 30 points. Cameron Johnson and Deandre Ayton each added 23. Phoenix had a chance to tie the game in the final second, but Jae Crowder threw the ball out of bounds.

Phoenix has played its past three games without All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who broke his thumb on Feb. 16 and could be out the rest of the regular season. The Suns have a 1-2 record in those games.

The Suns rallied for a 60-56 halftime lead after trailing for much of the second quarter. Ayton had 17 points on 8 of 10 shooting beore the break while Mitchell scored 11 for the Jazz.

TIP-INS

Jazz: G Rudy Gay played Sunday after missing the previous six games with right knee soreness and a non-COVID illness. ... Gobert had a season-high eight offensive rebounds.

Suns: Made 10 of their first 11 shots, scoring 24 points in the first six minutes of the first quarter. ... G Aaron Holiday returned after missing one game with a sprained ankle. ... Welcomed their 18th straight sellout crowd to the Footprint Center.

UP NEXT

Jazz: At Houston on Wednesday night.

Suns: Host Portland on Wednesday night.

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