On Halloween night, the Mortgage Matchup Center glowed in shades of orange and black. The court, painted in blazing orange for the NBA Cup debut, gleamed beneath the lights like molten metal. The Suns, draped in their stark black Statement Edition uniforms, clashed with the Utah Jazz in Game 6 of the season. The result? A 118-96 victory for Phoenix.
How’d they pull that off? By leaning into their new identity. They pressed. They clawed. Devin Booker led the charge, cool as ever, slicing up Utah like
a pumpkin under a porch light, scoring a season-high 36 points. Oh, and his body language looked good.
The Suns forced 21 turnovers and only coughed it up 12 times, cashing those mistakes in for a 29-13 edge in points off turnovers. Ryan Dunn was a machine again with 13 points and 11 rebounds, flying around like the court belonged to him. And even though Lauri Markkanen dropped 33, it didn’t matter. This one belonged to Phoenix from the opening tip. They trailed for all of 34 seconds, then grabbed a 20-point lead and never let it go.
For one night in Phoenix, the haunted house was theirs. The Suns took home their second win of the season, and yeah, it was a little spooky how good they looked doing it.
Game Flow
First Half
The Suns found themselves in rare territory, jumping out to an 8-2 lead fueled by active hands and quick reactions. Three early Jazz turnovers turned into four of those points. Ryan Dunn let it fly from deep three times and came up empty each one. Man, if that shot could fall for him.
One interesting wrinkle from Jordan Ott came early, with a lineup of Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, Devin Booker, Ryan Dunn, and Oso Ighodaro. Before long, Goodwin forced a turnover, Gillespie buried a pair of threes, and the Suns found themselves riding a smooth 13-0 run.
It was a scorching quarter for Phoenix and a brutal one for Utah. The Suns closed on a 23-2 run, hitting 53.6% from the field despite going 5-for-16 from deep. They turned 9 Utah turnovers into 16 points, and behind Devin Booker’s 12 in the frame, stormed into the second quarter with a 20-point lead, 37-17. Phoenix had just 1 turnover in the quarter.
The defensive intensity carried into the second quarter, where the team was flying around and getting production from everyone. Defesnive continued to lead to offense for Phoenix.
For the most part, the team stayed disciplined, although Oso Ighodaro found himself in foul trouble again, picking up his fifth with a little over five minutes left in the second.
Phoenix stretched the lead to 24, but a 9-2 run from Utah, mostly fueled by free throws, cut into it.
After dropping 37 in the first, the Suns managed only 17 in the second, shooting 22.7% in the quarter. Luckily, Utah couldn’t hit much either, finishing at 22.2%.
Lauri Markkanen, who lit up the Suns for 51 earlier in the week, was quiet this time around. He had 11 in the half, with 6 coming at the line. Booker led all scorers with 17, while Grayson Allen pulled down six boards to pace Phoenix.
At the break, the Suns were still in control, up 54-40.
Second Half
The start of the second half felt clunky. Utah leaned into physicality, testing the Suns’ patience and flow. Every whistle chipped away at the rhythm, turning the first five minutes into a foul-soaked grind.
But once the stoppages slowed, Phoenix found its groove again.
The ball started moving, the pace returned, and the lead swelled back to 20. Devin Booker took control, hitting threes, spinning into fadeaways, and torching defenders who had no answers. It was vintage Booker, smooth and relentless. He poured in 12 in the quarter, pushing his total to 29 on the night.
Lauri Markkanen found his rhythm in the third, outpacing his first-half production with 13 points in the period. Utah started to connect more, putting up 27 in the quarter, but Phoenix matched their energy and kept control. The Suns scored 29, maintaining their edge heading into the fourth.
Phoenix 83, Utah 67.
The fourth opened with Oso Ighodaro picking up his sixth foul, sending Lauri Markkanen to the line once again. Markkanen caught fire early, pouring in 9 quick points as Utah opened the quarter on a 12-8 run. Keyonte George and Markkanen had the scouting report down: go right at the Suns rookies. Oso and Dunn kept reaching into the cookie jar, and Utah kept cashing in at the line. With eight minutes left, the lead was trimmed to 10.
Ryan Dunn was everywhere, especially on the glass. After playing only 17 minutes in the first matchup earlier this week, his athleticism made all the difference this time. The team focused on keeping Mark Williams off the boards, and Dunn cleaned up everything that came loose. He finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, earning every bit of it.
The Suns kept their foot on the gas. Their defensive pressure never let up, and with timely threes dropping, every Utah run got shut down before it could breathe.
As for Devin Booker, the talk around his body language can take a night off. He looked locked in, calm, sharp, and fully in control. He poured in a season-high 36 points and made it look effortless. Suns win, 118-96.
Up Next
Wemby comes to town on Sunday night. The Alien. Be warned…
