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SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward had 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead a balanced Utah Jazz offence in a 109-86 win over the slumping Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. Nike Free 3.0 v3 Dame . Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Diante Garrett had a career-high 15 points as the Jazz had seven players with 10 points or more in Utahs largest margin of victory this season. The Jazz shot 57.5 per cent from the field, the highest mark of any Phoenix opponent this season. Gerald Green had 17 points and rookie Archie Goodwin matched his career-best with 16 for the Suns. Playing their only road game in a nine-game stretch, the Suns have been looking to improve their playoff position. However, with a third straight loss, Phoenix leads Memphis by just one-half game the eighth and final Western Conference berth. Hayward, mired in a shooting slump (31 per cent in his previous 13 games), made plays all over the court in this one. Some fans chanted to put Hayward back in the game to get his first-ever triple-double. He just smiled as he watched the Jazz play the last 6:15 of the runaway win. Goran Dragic did not dress due to a sprained ankle and the Suns missed his playmaking abilities. Dragic twisted his right ankle in the third quarter in a loss to Minnesota on Tuesday and will have the injury re-evaluated on Thursday. Ish Smith had 13 points and five assists but the Jazz didnt respect his outside shooting and the defence wasnt spread like it would have been with Dragic. The Suns were 6 of 19 on 3-pointers. The Jazz turned a five-point lead into a 72-57 advantage thanks a 12-2 run and a 5:08 stretch where they held the Suns without a field goal. The Jazz broke it open in the fourth quarter as Garrett showed the skills he wished the Suns could have seen last season. Garrett was a late pickup for the Jazz this season after playing 19 games for Phoenix in 2012-13. Garrett had 11 points in the first five minutes of the fourth period to push the Jazz lead to 95-73. Derrick Favours scored 15 points in his second game back from a hip injury and Alec Burks scored 15 and Jeremy Evans had 11 in reserve roles. The Jazz outscored the Suns 50-36 in the paint and were equally adept from beyond the arc, making 9 of 18 attempts. After allowing a 35-point fourth quarter against the Timberwolves on Tuesday, the Suns defence was again porous against the Jazz. Utah players often beat their Phoenix counterparts down the courts and were one step quicker to the hoop on drives. Though the Jazz are buried near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the starting lineup of Jefferson, Marvin Williams, Favors, Hayward and Trey Burke improved to 18-9 on the season. NOTES: Morris got a technical in the third quarter for yelling at official Zach Zarba after he was called for a foul on Jeffersons attempted dunk. ... The Suns largest lead was one point. ... The Jazz outscored the Suns in every quarter. ... Utahs previous biggest win this season was in a 122-101 victory at Sacramento on Dec. 11. ... Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek played for the Jazz from 1994-2000 and served as an assistant coach with Utah from 2011-13. His No. 14 jersey number hangs in the rafters. Nike Free 5.0 Dame . "Its huge," Casey said of Torontos matchup with the fifth-place Hawks, who sit 1.5 games behind the Raptors for third place in the Eastern Conference. "Its not like in the past where games dont matter. In the past we were building, getting guys experience. Nike Air Max 90 Mænd . Gretzky was asked if he believes Montreal Canadiens defenceman PK Subban should be on Canadas blueline in February at the Sochi Olympics. "Im not going to get in the middle of that controversy because Stevie Yzerman obviously knows what hes doing, he won a gold medal in 2010," said Gretzky. CHICAGO -- Arron Afflalo is quietly putting together a nice season for the Orlando Magic. He just wants to add more wins to his solid statistics. He thinks that team success could be coming soon. Afflalo scored 23 points and the Magic got double-doubles from Glen Davis and Nikola Vucevic in an 83-82 victory over the slumping Chicago Bulls on Monday night. "To me, its just about us getting healthy, putting it together, and getting some consistency," Afflalo said. "I feel once we get consistent with the things that we do well were going to be pretty good." Davis had 14 points and 11 rebounds despite playing with a sore left shoulder, powering Orlando to a 54-45 edge on the glass in just its second win in the last 10 games. Vucevic finished with 10 points and 11 boards. Orlando (8-17) closed out a nine-game stretch that included eight road games. It begins a six-game homestand on Wednesday night against Utah. "Im really looking forward to our personal home stretch back in Orlando and hopefully putting a streak together for once," said Afflalo, who is averaging a career-high 21.6 points on 47 per cent shooting. The Bulls (9-14) had a chance to win despite shooting 34.6 per cent from the field during another terrible offensive performance. Trailing 81-79 with 6.8 seconds left, Joakim Noah made a terrific bounce pass to a streaking Luol Deng, but he missed the easy layup. "I had a good angle and it was a great pass by Jo," Deng said. "I missed the shot and I knew I missed it when it left my hand. It was just a bad, bad miss and my fault." Davis grabbed the rebound and made two foul shots to give the Magic a four-point lead that proved crucial when Mike Dunleavy made a 3-pointer from half court as time expired. Deng had 26 points and eight rebounds for Chicago, which has dropped five of six. D.J. Augustin and Dunleavy had 14 points apiece, and Noah finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. "Its not pretty right now," Dunleavy said. "We are battling, we are trying, we just keep coming up short." Jameer Nelson had 14 points and seven assists for Orlando, which had lost its last five games against Chicago. The Magic appeared to be on their way to an easy victory when Vucevic and Afflalo made consecutive jumpers to make it 63-46 with 5:17 left in the third. Afflalo had 13 ppoints in the period. Nike Free Run 2 Herre Tilbud. But the Bulls started to pick up their play at the end of the quarter. Augustin, Dunleavy and Deng each made a 3-pointer during a 13-2 run that trimmed Orlandos lead to 65-59 with 58.1 seconds left, capped by an emphatic two-handed jam by Taj Gibson over Vucevic. "Its tough. Were losing to teams that were supposed to be beating," Gibson said. "Thats the way I feel. I just feel like we have to do better, including myself. This one hurts." The Bulls played without point guard Kirk Hinrich for the second straight game due to back stiffness. Coach Tom Thibodeau said he hopes Hinrich will be able to return soon. Marquis Teague replaced Hinrich in the starting lineup, but Chicagos offence looked much better when Augustin was on the court. Augustin, who signed with the Bulls on Friday and started the second half, had eight assists in 37 minutes, while Teague was scoreless in 11 minutes. Thibodeau said he thought about starting Augustin, but he wasnt sure if he was comfortable enough with the Bulls schemes. "I didnt want him to be tentative," Thibodeau said. "I thought he was much more aggressive. I liked the effort that he put in defensively. I think there are things he can do better, but I thought he made great effort and I think thats important." Davis injured his shoulder in the fourth quarter of Orlandos 101-98 loss at Oklahoma City on Sunday. He was a game-time decision against the Bulls, but he made two big jumpers in the final period while playing 33 minutes. "Im just proud of our guys, to go back home with a win," he said. Davis said his shoulder loosened up during the game and he just tried to give it everything he had. He also said he wanted to play against Bulls forward Carlos Boozer. "I like playing against Boozer. He really fires my engine," Davis said with a wry grin. "Just his whole attitude really gets under me." NOTES: Magic rookie Victor Oladipo, who played his college ball at Indiana, received a warm ovation when he was introduced with the starting lineup. ... The Bulls waived G Mike James before the game. He played 37 1/2 minutes over seven games with Chicago. ... These teams play again on Jan. 15 in Orlando and April 14 back in Chicago. ... Boozer had six points on 3 -for-10 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
