• Recap
• Bleachers

Bell, Barbosa help Suns speed past Jazz

Oct 16, 2007 - 4:41 AM By Bob Huhn PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Raja Bell scored 16 of his 24 points in the third quarter and Leandro Barbosa added 20 as the Phoenix Suns pounded the Utah Jazz, 124-101, in preseason action on Monday.

Shawn Marion contributed 16 points and Grant Hill chipped in with 14 for the Suns, who shot 16-of-25 from the arc.

Bell was 8-of-10 from the field, including 5-of-6 on 3-pointers, and Barbosa, who scored just seven points on 1-of-5 shooting in his last contest on Friday, had 15 points at halftime - hitting 5-of-8 shots from the floor.

Utah led 14-11 with 5:14 left in the opening quarter when the Suns scored the next 12 points to take a 23-14 lead at the 2:36 mark. Barbosa scored nine of the 12 points during that stretch.

The Suns held a 45-35 advantage with 5:11 remaining in the second quarter when they went on a 23-6 run to close out the first half with a 58-41 lead.

Phoenix continued their offensive barrage in the second half leading by as many as 35 points en route to a preseason-high 124 points.

Paul Millsap scored 16 points, despite being only 3-10 from the field, and Ronnie Brewer, who led the Jazz in scoring the three previous games, recorded 15 points - all in the second half.

Mehmet Okur had 12, Andrei Kirilenko scored 11 and Carlos Boozer added 10 in his first preseason game for the Jazz. Boozer had missed the first three contests to be with his 16-month-old son, Carmani, who received a bone-marrow transplant in late September.