Jazz face Nash, Suns with playoffs on the line

SALT LAKE CITY -- There’s only one thing standing between the Utah Jazz and a Western Conference playoff berth — the Phoenix Suns.

"We close. We close. So you know, we got to go and take it,” Jazz center Al Jefferson told the Associated Press.

The Jazz (34-30) face the Suns (33-31) tonight in arguably one of the franchise’s biggest regular season games.

If the Jazz win, they’re in. A loss leaves it to chance.

The Jazz own a one game lead in the standings over the Suns. However, because the Suns earned the tie-breaker by virtue of their two victories earlier in the season, Phoenix would clinch a playoff spot if the two teams finished the season with identical records. If the Jazz lose tonight, to clinch a spot in the playoffs, they would need the Suns to lose to the Spurs on Wednesday, then they would have to beat Portland on Thursday.

Related:

Jazz: Playoff scenarios take shape, win and you're in

The Utah Jazz have played over 3,000 minutes this season, and their playoff lives will boil down to 48 more on Tuesday.

Complicating matters for the Jazz, the Suns will face a Spurs team on Wednesday that may likely be resting many of its star players, having already clinched the No. 1 seed for the Western Conference playoffs. While this scenario could play out, the Jazz can keep things simple by winning tonight’s game.

“We control our own destiny,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin told the Deseret News. “We’re not looking at anyone else to back into it. It’s up to us to do what we need to do. If we win the game, we in.”

Jazz forward Josh Howard, who could be returning to action against the Suns after a four-week absence, said the matchup against Phoenix is huge.

“Tomorrow’s a big game,” Howard said after Monday’s practice. “It’s a playoff game. So, we’ll see how we respond and hopefully get the win.”

Utah, winner of three straight, faces a Phoenix team it hasn’t beaten in its last seven attempts. The last time these two teams met, Phoenix edged Utah 107-105 on April 4. In that game, Steve Nash hit two shots in the final 14 seconds and a Paul Millsap tip-in attempt for the tie was after the clock expired, sending the Jazz to a loss.

Jazz point guard Devin Harris said he is looking forward to the challenge of beating the Suns.

“The hurdle that we have to cross is that it’s against a team that we haven’t played well against,” Harris told the Deseret News. “But we look forward to the opportunity.”

The Jazz are still without the services of Earl Watson and C.J. Miles, however Howard may play, and Raja Bell is also close to a return.

The Suns may be without Channing Frye and Grant Hill. Frye suffered a sublaxation to the right shoulder and will play, according to the Arizona Republic, if the “swelling decreases and the range of motion increases.” Hill is suffering from an inflamed right knee and may or may not play.

Both are considered game time decision.

Phoenix reserve point guard Sebastian Telfair said his team can pull out the win.

"We understand that's a winnable game," Telfair told the Arizona Republic. "We've done it before, which gives us confidence. We just made it a little harder on ourselves. We're going to come out and give it all we've got. No excuses. We don't care whose sore or not shooting well. Everybody's got to be at their best."

Suns guard Shannon Brown said that to clinch a playoff spot, his team has to beat the Jazz.

''We got to go into Utah — tough environment, tough atmosphere, tough team — and we got to win,'' Brown told the Associated Press ''That's basically what it comes down to.''

The game takes place at 8:30 p.m. at EnergySolutions Arena and will be nationally televised by TNT.

Jarrod Hiatt is a freelance writer who writes Jazz previews for KSL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @jarrodhiatt.

Related topics