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Suns pull out win in Utah, close gap in playoff race

Apr 5, 2012 - 4:02 AM Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Steve Nash's jumper with 1.7 seconds left on the clock gave the Phoenix Suns a 107-105 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Utah appeared to tie the game as Paul Millsap finished a putback off a C.J. Miles missed three-pointer at the buzzer, but video replay showed the ball was still in Millsap's hands as the red light behind the backboard lit up red

Seven Suns finished in double figures, led by Michael Redd's 19 points. Nash and Channing Frye each tallied 13 points, while Marcin Gortat added 14 and Shannon Brown and Markieff Morris netted 11 points apiece. The Suns have won three straight and trail Houston and Denver by one game for the final two playoff spots in the West.

Millsap led all scorers with 25 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists. Miles finished with 22 points and Gordon Hayward recorded a double- double with 20 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who have lost four of five and now sit 1 1/2 games behind the Rockets and Nuggets.

"The first quarter we came out and weren't as aggressive as I thought we would be," said Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin. "We can't wait to get ourselves going. We have to be ready."

The Suns led by nine, 100-91, with 4:13 left in the fourth when the Jazz made their run, scoring seven straight, led by five from Millsap to pull within 100-98 with 2:20 left.

Frye quelled the run with a triple, but Millsap answered with a jumper and forced a Nash turnover on the other end. Nash then committed a clear path foul, and Millsap hit 1-of-2 from the line to make it a 103-101 contest with 34.8 seconds remaining and Utah in possession of the ball.

Al Jefferson then tied the game on two different occasions, but Nash answered each time, the latter with 1.7 ticks on the clock to put the Suns ahead for good.

Trailing by three to start the fourth, Utah scored the first five of the frame to take an 95-83 lead, but Redd sank a three and added a layup to spark a 14-2 run for the visitors.

Sebastian Telfair capped the surge with a three-pointer and added a layup after a Millsap turnover to press the Suns' lead to 97-87 with 6:43 left in the fourth.

"We survived," said Nash after the victory. "I thought the bench was great in the fourth quarter to give us a 10-point lead and the starters came in and coughed it up. We stuck with it and persevered and we were rewarded in the end."

The teams remained tight through much of the game, playing to a 31-31 stalemate in the first. Phoenix took a 58-56 lead at halftime and led 83-80 after the third quarter.

Game Notes

Jazz point guard Devin Harris missed the contest after he suffered a left ankle sprain in the first half against the Blazers on Monday and never returned...Utah will host the Warriors on Friday, while the Suns travel to Denver on Friday...The game saw 20 lead changes and was tied 10 times.