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Suns tangle with Jazz in Salt Lake City

Feb 26, 2014 - 3:23 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Phoenix Suns will try to end a two-game losing streak Wednesday night when they visit EnergySolutions Arena to face the Utah Jazz.

The Suns dropped two in a row, both at home, after a three-game winning streak. During the winning run, Phoenix allowed an average of 95.3 points per game, but during this recent rut, the Suns have given up 112.5 ppg.

Granted, the two losses came to top-five offenses in the NBA and both played out similarly.

On Sunday, the Suns blew an 11-point lead in a loss to the Houston Rockets and on Tuesday, their margin was eight before the Minnesota Timberwolves stormed back for a 110-101 victory.

"You've got to be determined," Phoenix head coach Jeff Hornacek said. "When you're playing good teams, if you don't buckle down in that fourth quarter and try to guard your own man and expect help, that's when you get in trouble. Good teams pick you apart. That's what they did."

Markieff Morris led Phoenix with 24 points, his third straight game over 20 points. He is averaging 19.4 ppg and 54.7 percent shooting over his last five contests.

Gerald Green and Goran Dragic netted 19 and 16, respectively, for the Suns. P.J. Tucker pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in the setback.

After Wednesday's brief trip to Salt Lake City, the Suns play their next four at home.

The Jazz head east after Wednesday's home contest. Utah plays its following six games on the road with stops in Cleveland, Indiana, Milwaukee, Washington, New York and Philadelphia.

On Monday, the Jazz halted a three-game slide with a 110-98 home victory over the Boston Celtics.

Alec Burks netted 21 points and Derrick Favors added 20 for the Jazz. Marvin Williams recorded 19 points and seven rebounds, while Gordon Hayward dished out 10 assists for the Jazz.

"We bounced back. I thought our execution on our offensive end for the most part was pretty good. We got the ball where we wanted, especially the first half," Utah head coach Tyrone Corbin said.

The Suns have taken two of three meetings with the Jazz this season, including the only matchup in Salt Lake City. That 11-point win on Nov. 29 ended a three-game road losing streak in the series for Phoenix.