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PHOENIX — For a few moments, it looked at though Utah's road troubles may have seen the worst of their days.
The first half at the U.S. Airways Center brought with it a seemingly prepared and energetic Jazz team, earning a lead as large as 13 over the hosting Suns before falling 120-111 to their Western Conference foe Wednesday night.
After allowing Phoenix big man Marcin Gortat to post 11 points in the first quarter - following a meager eight-point performance in Monday night's loss to the Timberwolves - the Jazz tightened their inside defense and held Gortat to just two points in the second quarter.
Doing so and still controlling the Suns' outside offense, however, was too much to be asked of Utah's defense. While Gortat cooled off, Channing Frye and Jared Dudley took over, combining for 23 first half points with 16 coming in the second quarter.
"They made shots. (Steve) Nash did a good job of search dribbling and broke our defense down a little bit," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said.
Suns' veteran point guard Nash had apparently seen enough of Utah's aggressive play when he re-entered the game late in the half and took over a run-and-gun offense to help the Suns tie the game at 53 before halftime.
Nash ended the night with 12 points and 16 assists.
"Sometimes I feel like it's 5-on-3 out there the way (Nash) penetrates into the lane," Al Jefferson said. "It just seems like he always finds somebody wide open. I think the older he gets, the better he gets."
Behind Nash, the Suns blazed through Utah's third quarter defense, jumping out to a 12-point lead and keeping the Jazz off the free throw line until the final two minutes of the quarter when Gordon Hayward hit the floor on a hard drive.
Hayward and C.J. Miles restored a little life in Utah's offense late in the quarter with two free throws and a floater off the glass, but it was Jamaal Tinsley's half-court three at the buzzer that cut Phoenix's lead to seven and pushed a resilient Jazz team into the fourth quarter.
Utah opened the final 12 minutes of play on Tinsley's lingering momentum and managed to tie the game twice at 91 and 93 points, but the Suns responded just as quickly, reopening their full-court game and restoring a comfortable eight-point lead. Despite another offensive spurt from the Jazz that brought them within three in the final minutes, the Suns held on for their sixth straight win over the Jazz.
"It's frustrating to not get the one or two plays that you're looking for, but it's encouraging that the guys continued to fight," Corbin said. "We got down (12) points and fought our way back in it, and had a chance there to win it at the end."
The Jazz maintained a well-spread offensive effort throughout the game, earning 56 points from their starters and 55 from the bench. Jefferson and Paul Millsap paced Utah's offense with 18 points apiece and 17 combined rebounds, while Tinsley chipped in a career-high 11 points off the bench.
The Suns saw three men score over 20 points for the first time this season, earning 26 from Frye, 25 from Gortat, and 21 from Dudley.
With the loss, the Jazz moved to 20-22 overall, resting three games out of the eighth playoff seat in the Western Conference and tied with the Suns at No. 10. Their road record, second worst in the west, moved to 5-16.
