Jazz Has a Knack for Beating the Best

The Phoenix Suns ran so much early that they had nothing left at the end.

Utah rallied after falling behind by 14 points and held off the visiting Suns, 115-108, on Wednesday night, the Jazz’s second win in a row over one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Phoenix’s seven-game winning streak ended.

“Those are signs of what we can do, and those are signs of the team that we have if we do the right thing,” said Raja Bell, who scored 19 points off the bench after sitting out five games because of inflammation in his right knee.

Utah’s bench and rebounding wore down the Suns, who beat Miami, 122-107, the night before. Utah’s reserves outscored the Suns’, 67-6, and the Jazz won the rebounding battle, 55-35.

Mehmet Okur, whose last-second offensive rebound and putback gave Utah a 97-96 victory over San Antonio on Monday, finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds -- 10 on the offensive end.

After losing nine in a row, the Jazz has won two in a row over the teams with the top two records in the West.

Steve Nash had 22 points for the Suns.

*

Miami 98, Golden State 91 -- Shaquille O’Neal had 26 points and 12 rebounds at Oakland to help the Heat avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season while playing without leading scorer Dwyane Wade, sidelined by back spasms and a rib contusion.

*

Houston 124, Dallas 114 -- Tracy McGrady made six of eight three-point attempts to finish with 30 points and match his season high with 11 assists at Dallas to help end the Mavericks’ six-game winning streak.

*

Orlando 87, Minnesota 80 -- Hedo Turkoglu had 26 points to help the Magic snap its seven-game road losing streak and hand the Timberwolves (17-17) their 11th loss in their last 15 games.

The Magic also withstood a 19-point, 25-rebound game from Kevin Garnett, though only four of his points came after halftime.

*

Washington 104, Portland 100 -- Gilbert Arenas had 26 points, made a floating runner with 24 seconds to play and then stole an inbound pass and converted it into a breakaway dunk at Washington to help the Wizards emerge from four lead changes in the final 70 seconds.

Damon Stoudamire had 23 points for Portland, which played most of the game without Zach Randolph, who suffered what the team called a mild right knee sprain.

*

Toronto 104, Boston 93 -- Morris Peterson made seven three-point baskets and scored a career-high 37 points to lead the Raptors at Toronto. The Celtics lost their seventh in a row on the road.

*

Detroit 90, New Orleans 76 -- Ben Wallace had 11 points and a season-high 19 rebounds at Auburn Hills, Mich., to help the Pistons end the 4-30 Hornets’ modest two-game winning streak.

*

Chicago 110, Philadelphia 78 -- Rookie Ben Gordon tied a career high with 31 points at Chicago to lead the Bulls to their fifth win in a row.

*

San Antonio 94, Milwaukee 79 -- Tim Duncan scored 21 points, and the Spurs’ bench contributed 31 points in a victory at San Antonio.

*

Trail Blazer forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim underwent surgery on his sore right elbow, the team said.... Cleveland Cavalier rookie guard Luke Jackson will have back surgery today and sit out the rest of the season.