Suns look to catch Jazz in the standings

The Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz are in the same boat,
trying to plug their leaks and get back into the race for
the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Utah and Phoenix are sitting at 10th and 12th overall in
the Western Conference standings, trying to claw their way
into the playoff conversation when they face each other at
US Airways Center Wednesday. Neither team is out of the
postseason yet, because the Suns are 3 games out of the
eighth spot and the Jazz only have to make up two games.

The Suns will try to recover after a 127-124 shootout loss
to Minnesota Monday, while the Jazz (20-21) are trying to
capitalize on a decisive 15-point win over Detroit.

Suns swingman Jared Dudley was a bright spot in the loss,
continuing his impressive play, scoring a season-high 28
points. Dudley’s efficient night saw him hit 10-15 from
the floor, 2-5 from behind the arc, and a perfect 6-6 from
the charity stripe.

“[Monday] night’s game was a disappointing loss when it
comes to how well we play offensively,” Dudley told
Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf Tuesday. “I thought it
was our best offensive game all season, we shot the ball
well, ball movement was good, I think we scored over what,
120, instinctively, just didn’t stick to our defensive
principles consistent enough to be able to win the game.”

Phoenix (19-22) got good production from their bench
against the T-Wolves, with Shannon Brown, Sebastian
Telfair and Robin Lopez all scoring in double figures.

On the downside, Markieff Morris continued to struggle on
Monday. However, Hakim Warrick, who usually fills in for
him, did not play against Minnesota due to a coach’s
decision. This was a surprise to some after Warrick had
recently filled in for the declining Morris and
contributed to back-to-back wins against quality teams.

As for the Jazz, they’re getting back to being one of
those quality teams because of center Al Jefferson. The
big man dominated the lowly Pistons, scoring 33 points to
go along with his 12 boards in only 36 minutes Monday.
Jefferson connected on 14-18 shots from the field, 1-1
from three-point range and was a perfect 4-4 from the free
throw line.

Marcin Gortat will have to tangle with Jefferson
Wednesday, after having an off game Monday. Gortat had a
forgettable eight-point, four-rebound stat line in his 20
minutes.

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