SALT LAKE CITY — – Devin Booker scored 31 points and Bradley Beal added 24 to help the Phoenix Suns open NBA Cup pool play with a 120-112 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

Grayson Allen scored 15 points for the Suns. Booker, Beal and Allen combined for 13 three-pointers. Mason Plumlee finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds while starting in place of injured center Jusuf Nurkic.

John Collins led the Jazz with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Kyle Filipowski added 18 points off the bench and Lauri Markkanen scored 17. Jordan Clarkson finished with a team-high 16 points and eight assists.

Utah trailed by double digits for much of the game, but closed the deficit to 89-83 after Filipowski’s dunk with 10:18 remaining. Beal countered with consecutive baskets to keep the Jazz from getting closer. Royce O’Neale and Booker followed with back-to-back 3-pointers to extend Phoenix’s lead to 110-98 with 3:58 remaining.

Takeaways

Suns: Explosive and efficient offense helped Phoenix crush multiple potential rallies. The Suns were adept in transition, scoring 16 fast-break points and also knocking down 18 three-pointers.

Jazz: Utah flexed its muscles around the basket and outscored the Suns 58-34 in the paint.

Key moment

After the Jazz pulled within five points on back-to-back baskets from Markkanen and Filipowski, an unforced defensive error set the Suns on fire. Markkanen accidentally tipped the ball into Phoenix’s basket while looking for a rebound. It set up a 12-0 run, putting the Suns ahead 49-32 midway through the second quarter.

Key stat

Phoenix shot 9 of 17 from 3-point range in the first half while shooting 58.5% overall from the field.

Next

The Suns visit Sacramento on Wednesday for their second game in four days against the Kings, while the Jazz host Dallas on Thursday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba