Kevin Durant's 38 points, Devin Booker's 15 assists drive Phoenix to edge Utah

The Phoenix Suns (6-6) defeated the Utah Jazz, 131-128, on Friday.

In the Suns' second game of the NBA In-Season Tournament, they staved off elimination from "knockout round" contention, and are now 1-1 in West Group A play.

Kevin Durant was the grind game's top scorer with 38 points on a staggering 68% shooting, and nearly had a triple-double adding nine rebounds and nine assists. Devin Booker was a supreme facilitator, shelling out a new career-high 15 assists with his 24 points and just one turnover.

Durant sealed the lead for Phoenix in the closing seconds by draining his sixth 3 to put Phoenix up by four, then Grayson Allen (10 points) hit two free throws to extend the lead.

Jordan Clarkson had 37 points and five assists for Utah (4-8). His fifth 3 came at 3.6 seconds left to cut the margin to three before Phoenix milked the clock in its final possession for the victory.

Phoenix plays at Utah again on Sunday.

Suns back in the lead entering 4th quarter

Phoenix regained a 102-99 lead to end the third period.

Kevin Durant is still streaky, scoring 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting. Devin Booker had 18 points and 12 assists, two shy of his individual single-game record.

Clarkson has been Utah's spark, matching Durant's point total.

The scoring margin got tighter as both teams traded the lead five times and had four ties.

Jazz, Suns tied at halftime, Durant puts on shooting clinic

Phoenix and Utah are tied at 75-75 at the break.

Kevin Durant is on fire from everywhere on the floor. He scored 14 of his 24 points in the second quarter, on a fiery 10-of-11 shooting overall.

Devin Booker has been racking up dimes at nine assists, but has somewhat tapered from his solid 3-of-5 start, missing all four shots in the second.

Utah's Clarkson has team-highs 16 points and four assists. Markkanen has 11 points, and Keyonte George has shot his team-best 5-of-8 for 13 points.

Phoenix led for most of the game until Utah moved ahead for the first time after John Collins' tip-in for a 72-70 score at 1:26 left.

Suns take 1st quarter lead raining 3s

Phoenix is up 41-38, matching its first quarter scoring season-high.

After a hot shooting start from the Suns, making 7-of-8 from the arc, and a 14-point lead, Utah went on a 10-4 run to cut the lead to three with one minute left.

Kevin Durant has 10 points, Devin Booker scored nine and already has seven assists.

Utah's Clarkson has a team-high nine points.

Starting lineups

Phoenix is running back its small-ball opening lineup from Wednesday. Devin Booker is running the point, Grayson Allen in the backcourt with him, Eric Gordon and Kevin Durant at forward, and Yusuf Nurkic at center.

Like Phoenix, Utah will begin with a three guards in Jordan Clarkson, rookie Keyonte George, and Ochai Agbaji, forwards Lauri Markannen and John Collins.

Booker in, Beal's back issues further stalls Suns' Big 3 debut

The Republic's Duane Rankin reported on Friday that Devin Booker was elevated from probable to being in against Utah. This will be his second straight appearance after he missed the previous five from his right calf strain.

That news crossed with the team's announcement about Bradley Beal's absence from his lingering lower back injury being extended into December.

Phoenix said on Friday that Bradley Beal will be re-evaluated for his lingering back issues in three weeks.

Phoenix's Big 3 has been a revolving door between Devin Booker and Bradley Beal through the team's first 11 games.

Kevin Durant, who's playing at an MVP level as the NBA's fourth-leading scorer (30.1 points per game), hasn't missed time this season. He's shared the floor with Booker for three games, the same amount with Beal, but none altogether as highly anticipated.

The last game Beal played was Phoenix's Monday home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, in which he had 24 points.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Durant, Booker drive Phoenix to edge Utah