Favors and Hayward lead Jazz in rout of Suns
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward went for 56 points and 19 rebounds between them as the Utah Jazz crushed the Phoenix Suns, 118-91, on Saturday.
Favors led the way with a career-high 32 points, Hayward added 24 and Trevor Booked dropped 14 points off the bench in Utah's first win of the season. Rookie Dante Exum, the No. 5 pick in June's draft, made three 3-pointers for 10 points in the triumph.
"We came out played, two good teams early and lost, so we needed this win," Favors said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One night after taking down the defending-champion Spurs, Phoenix's offense sputtered behind the struggles of its three-headed point guard plateau. Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas all scored 10 points, hitting just 11- of-35 shots.
"They did a good job tonight. They pushed the ball. They had a lot more energy," Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek said of the Jazz.
Gerald Green led six Suns in double digits with 16 points off the bench.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Utah was the better team from the opening tip. Favors and Alec Burks led the charge, scoring 13 and 10 points, respectively, in the period, to help the Jazz to a 33-22 lead.
The spread reached 18 early in the second quarter after Exum and Hayward canned back-to-back 3-pointers. Phoenix responded with an 18-2 run, which Markieff Morris capped with a mid-range jumper. The margin was four, 59-55, at halftime.
The Suns actually took a brief lead after Marcus Morris hit a 3 to start the third and Miles Plumlee got a layup to go. Booker and Hayward countered with layups to jumpstart an 11-0 Jazz run that all but deflated Phoenix's chances.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The lead was at least seven the rest of the way, with it reaching 29 late in the fourth.
Game Notes
The Suns shot 7-of-31 from 3-point range, while Utah went 7-for-26 ... The Jazz won the rebounding margin, 52-34.