The (2-1) Phoenix Suns defeated the (1-2) Utah Jazz, 126-104, on Saturday, October 28th. The Jazz were playing on the back end of a back to back. The Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, 120-118, the night before.
The Suns were playing short-handed for the second straight game. Bradley Beal and Devin Booker missed this game after both were not available against the Los Angeles Lakers. Beal has yet to play this season while dealing with back spasms. This was the second game missed by Booker as he is dealing with an ankle sprain.
What were the big takeaways from the Suns win
The first points of the game against the Utah Jazz came in a similar situation. Nurkic sets the pick and Utah doubles Durant but this time Durant takes a dribble to the left which opens up Eric Gordon for the three and he knocks it down.
Against the Lakers, Durant had two assists and eight turnovers. Last night against Utah, Durant responded with seven assists and only two turnovers. The facilitating of Kevin Durant is what got the Suns going in that first quarter. It is very important for Durant to create for others especially in the absence of Beal and Booker.
Run Suns Run
It is very important in the NBA to get easy buckets as points are hard to come by against a set defense. One way to get easy bucket is in transition. The Suns did not get many of those baskets against the Lakers as they were outscored in fast break points, 16-6. The Suns responded by outscoring the Utah Jazz in fast break points, 23-6.
Grayson Allen and Eric Gordon Are The X-Factors
Grayson Allen scored a combined six points in the first two games of the season. In the first game of the year against the Golden State Warriors, Allen was 0/6 for 0 points. Against the Lakers, Allen went 2/6 for six points. This is simply not good enough for Phoenix to win on a consistent basis especially with Beal and/or Booker missing the game.
Allen was able to get out of his slump in a major way against the Jazz. He went 6/10 from the floor and 3/7 from three for 17 points and this nasty dunk.