Kevin Durant scores 31 points, Bradley Beal adds 30 in Suns' 129-115 victory over Jazz

PHOENIX (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Bradley Beal had 30 and the Phoenix Suns — with All-Star Devin Booker sidelined by a sore left hip — beat the Utah Jazz 129-115 on Thursday night.

The Suns never trailed, winning their third straight game and 12th of 15. They also swept the four-game, regular-season series from the Jazz.

Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 22 points, while John Collins had 21 and Collin Sexton 19.

Phoenix jumped out to a 40-28 lead in the first quarter after 19 points from Durant on 8-of-13 shooting. The Suns settled for a 75-66 halftime lead.

Utah cut it to 81-78 early in the third but Phoenix used a 13-0 run — highlighted by Eric Gordon's 3-pointer — to regain control. The Suns built a 109-90 lead by the end of the third quarter and never trailed in the fourth, keeping a double-digit margin throughout.

Gordon scored 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Grayson Allen added eight points and a career-high 14 assists. The Suns shot 59% from the field.

Allen nearly doubled his previous career high of eight assists. The sixth-year player is known for his 3-point shooting, but with Booker on the bench, he was more of a ballhandler against the Jazz.

Earlier Thursday, the Suns re-tooled their bench at the trade deadline, adding Royce O'Neale from the Brooklyn and David Roddy from Memphis, but neither was available on Thursday. Utah also made a pair of moves, adding Kevin Knox II, Kira Lewis Jr. and Otto Porter Jr., who were also unavailable.

UP NEXT

Jazz: Host Golden State on Monday.

Suns: Travel to Golden State on Saturday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba