Will Hardy makes an insightful statement following the Jazz’s loss to the Suns

It was a solid performance for the Utah Jazz on Friday night, ultimately ending in a 126-134 loss at home to the Phoenix Suns. Utah ended up shooting an incredible 56.4% from three-point range on 22 shots, but couldn’t earn its sixth win of the year.

The Suns had a strong night of their own on offense, which resulted in every member of their starting lineup scoring in double figures on the night, as well as Ryan Dunn, who was on the bench. Overall, Phoenix shot 52.8% from the field, 48.9% from three and 90% from the free throw line on 20 attempts.

After the loss, third-year Jazz head coach Will Hardy spoke to the media about some initial thoughts on the loss.

“Tonight underlines, if nothing else, the level of performance in the NBA today,” said Hardy. “It was a remarkable shooting performance from both teams. Without losing many points; Both teams took a lot of high-level shots tonight… They made us pay for every mistake on defense tonight. Some nights, mistakes are made and you get let off the hook because shots are missed, and tonight wasn’t one of those nights.”

The game was dominated by two top performances from Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Durant returned to the lineup after a three-game absence and posted 30 points, three rebounds and eight assists, while Booker led the Suns with 34 points to go along with two rebounds and eight assists.

Things didn’t go too badly for the Jazz on offense, as they also had five of their own players who scored in double figures. The attack was led by sparkplug Jordan Clarkson, who scored a team-high 23 points in his first game back from a foot injury. However, it wasn’t enough to get Utah over the hump.

This win now brings Phoenix to a record of 12-2 when Durant is on the floor – a win-loss ratio that would be at the top of the Western Conference and 2-9 without him. As for the Jazz, things aren’t looking much better in the standings based on Friday’s results, sitting at 5-19 in 14th place in the West.

The Jazz will have an opportunity to get back on track and avoid their third straight loss on Monday when they take on the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome.

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