PHOENIX — In Wednesday night’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, points were abundant for the Jazz (20-22), but even more came to Phoenix (20-22) in perhaps the most run-and-gun game for Utah all season. The Jazz allowed the Suns to shoot 56 percent from the floor, including 9-19 from distance.

Guards: Starter Devin Harris had three turnovers to two assists. Wednesday night, it was Jamaal Tinsley who stole the point guard show on Utah’s side. Like he did months ago against Golden State, the veteran made a serious case for more playing time, scoring 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting while dishing eight assists and grabbing three rebounds. Raja Bell and C.J. Miles (combined 6-of-10 shooting) were decent offensively, but Phoenix guards Jared Dudley and Steve Nash joined the club of guards who have burned Utah. Dudley scored 21 points and Nash carved up everyone, tallying 16 assists. GRADE: C-

Forwards: Paul Millsap had 18 points and 10 rebounds but allowed Channing Frye to nearly have his way in the paint, as the University of Arizona alum scored 26 points. Grant Hill scored 12 points opposite Josh Howard’s six on 3-of-12 shooting. Gordon Hayward picked up some of Howard’s slack, scoring 13 points while playing more than the first-year Jazzman. GRADE: C

Centers: Al Jefferson struggled after displaying an inspiring performance earlier in the week, a game in which he scored 33 points following his grandmother’s death. This time, the Mississippi native scored 18 points while enduring some foul trouble. Meanwhile, the Suns’ lesser-known Marcin Gortat was dominant, scoring 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Enes Kanter partially made up for Jefferson’s more-quiet-than-the-recent-past game with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in 11 minutes. GRADE: C-

Bench: The Jazz bench outscored Phoenix’s by an astounding 55-24, headlined by three players in double figures. Derrick Favors scored 14 points ouside of the output from Hayward and Tinsley. The bench’s all-around play — Miles and Kanter included — on a night that the starters were nothing special kept the Jazz in the game. However, Utah reserves sometimes guarded the high-scoring Phoenix starters, too. GRADE: B+

Overall: Though it was fantastic to see the Jazz operate so smoothly on defense — they shot 52 percent from the field and even shot higher than 30 percent from distance — it was nearly painful to see the apparent lack of interest on the other end of the floor. Phoenix was given 32 free-throw attempts compared with the Jazz’s 17. Utah needs to learn to play more disciplined in winnable road games. GRADE: C-

Rhett Wilkinson is a journalism and speech communications major at Utah State University. He has previously been an intern for the Deseret News. He can be reached at rhett.wilkinson@yahoo.com or at Twitter: wilklogan

PHOENIX — With all of the talk of wheeling and dealing going on around the NBA, the Utah Jazz weren’t able to trade one thing they’d like to ship elsewhere.

They just can’t seem to shake their struggles on the road.

They couldn’t get the Phoenix Suns to miss, either, during Wednesday’s 120-111 loss at US Airways Center.

“Them guys didn’t miss, man,” Jazz center Al Jefferson said. “We shot 52 percent and lost. They shot 56.”

And became the latest home team to pad its stats against the Jazz.

Utah looked like it might be on the right track last week when it beat a pair of subpar squads in Cleveland and Charlotte.

Since then, though, the Jazz have dropped three straight games away from the Beehive State.

This one hurt in multiple ways.

The loss put them into a tie for 10th place in the Western Conference with the Suns at 20-22 and dropped their road record to 5-16.

The setback also saw the Jazz botch a 13-point lead — as Phoenix did its best BYU impression with as much as a 25-point turnaround.

Utah also lost backup point guard Earl Watson with a sprained left ankle.

Thanks in large part to point guard Steve Nash and three of his teammates’ hot hands, Utah also lost anything resembling a defense after taking a 30-22 lead after the first quarter.

Over the final three quarters, the Suns had three consecutive quarters of 30-plus points while firing in 98 points — almost exactly how much the Jazz usually give up in an entire game.

Three Suns surpassed the 20-point mark, including Channing Frye (game-high 26 points), Marcin Gortat (25) and Jared Dudley (21).

Nash contributed 12 points, including two clutch free throws with 22.6 seconds remaining, but he had a 16-assist effort that might’ve given Jazz fans John Stockton flashbacks.

“Nash is a one-man show,” Jefferson said. “And them guys hitting shots with him handling the ball, they’re hard to beat.”

As a team, Phoenix shot 56.4 percent and hit 9-of-19 3-pointers, including five treys from Frye and four from Dudley. Frye’s bombs were especially painful, because the versatile 6-foot-11 power forward was able to stretch the defense and take one of Utah’s bigs outside with him.

PHOENIX — C.J. Miles had a tattoo inked onto his forearm to help him get through challenging times. Reading from the Bible he carries around also helps.

Inner peace is hard enough to find when your routine is normal, but solace is even trickier to obtain with uncertainty permeating the locker room air leading up to the NBA’s trade deadline (today at 1 p.m. MT).

“It’s a tough time,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. “You don’t know. You can’t control that. You just have to play and as much as you can not wreck your mind thinking about it the whole time.”

That’s the gist of what was said Wednesday by the four Jazz players whose names popped up in trade rumors over the past couple of days.

Starters Raja Bell and Josh Howard along with Miles and fellow reserve Jamaal Tinsley said they’re tuning out trade talk. None had any concrete information to share, either.

“I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to get a chance to play,” said Miles, who has been with the Jazz since 2005. “I’m happy to get a chance to help my team win when I can, and that’s all I can really worry about.”

When the storm clouds enter his soul, though, Miles, a preacher’s son, recites the words found on his right arm for comfort. They read:

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

That Serenity Prayer is so important to Miles, he rubs the tattoo as part of his pregame ritual. It’s his “mental reminder.”

“I’ve got it tatted on my arm for a reason,” he said. “All I can worry about is tonight, try to help my team win a game today. … If you miss shots, so be it. All you can control is the next one.”

Howard said he hadn’t heard news about his name coming up in trade talk, although it didn’t shock him.

“I’ve been a part of this league for nine years. Nothing new. Nothing surprises me,” Howard said. “All you can do is be a professional with the team you’re with at the time and if it happens, it happens. If it don’t, continue to play the way you’ve been playing.”

Ditto for Tinsley.

“I still approach it the way I’ve been approaching it,” Tinsley said. “I can’t control that anyway. The only thing I can control is being ready when my number being called and do what I do.”

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns pulled a mini-BYU in the first half of their game tonight against the Utah Jazz.

Trailing by 13 points, the Suns rallied to tie 53-53 at halftime at US Airways Center.

Utah used a 15-2 run spanning the first and second quarters to go ahead 35-22.

But the Suns chipped away at that lead going into the locker room, especially after backup Jazz point guard Earl Watson left with a sprained left ankle.

Channing Frye sank a 3-pointer just before the end of the half and leads all scorers with 15 points. Marcin Gortat added 13 for Phoenix.

Paul Millsap tops Utah with nine points.

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

The Utah Jazz are doing all they can earn a spot in the NBA Playoffs this season. With April marking the final month of the NBA season, a strong showing is necessary if they hope to earn a spot. Look for Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, and Gordon Hayward to come up big in their final push.

Check with your service provider for channel listings in your area. With NBA League Pass, Jazz fans across the nation can catch every game and witness every play.

Note: All start times Mountain

April 2012

Mon 2, Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers, 8 p.m. (ROOT)

Wed 4, Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Fri 6, Golden State Warriors at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Sun 8, Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs, 5 p.m. (ROOT)

Mon 9, San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Wed 11, Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Fri 13, Utah Jazz at New Orleans Hornets, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Sat 14, Utah Jazz at Memphis Grizzlies, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Mon 16, Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Wed 18, Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers, 8 p.m. (ROOT)

Sat 21, Orlando Magic at Utah Jazz, 8:30 p.m. (ROOT, ESPN)

Tue 24, Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Thu 26, Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Sources:

All data provided by NBA.com

Paul Rados is a Cleveland based freelance sportswriter and Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

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