Gobert sets single-season dunk record with 270th

SALT LAKE CITY -- Rudy Gobert dunked his way to a season-high 27 points and set the single-season NBA dunk record to fuel the Utah Jazz to a 125-92 victory Monday night over the Phoenix Suns.

"I'm not rushing like I used to, and my teammates are doing a great job finding me. When I'm able to finish and draw fouls, it gives them more confidence to pass me the ball," Gobert said.

Gobert's alley-oop off a lob from Donovan Mitchell in the second quarter was his 270th dunk of the season. The 7-foot-1 center's 275 dunks are the most in the NBA since the statistic started being tracked by the Elias Sports Bureau in 1997-98, besting Dwight Howard's 269 slams in 2007-08.

Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio each had 18 points, and Joe Ingles added 14 as the Jazz won for the seventh time in their past eight games.

"We're an unselfish team. We move the ball. We share the ball, and we play together," Ingles said. The Jazz had 31 assists and shot 55.8 percent from the field. "We've never worried about someone shooting too much or not enough."

After the game, Rubio joked that Gobert can quit complaining they don't get him the ball enough.

Gobert had six dunks in the game -- he missed a no-look reverse attempt in the third period -- and averages 3.7 per contest. Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo had 262 dunks entering the night.

"They have to pick their poison," Gobert said about recent opponents who have concentrated on jamming him on the pick-and-roll. "It's fun to win, and it's fun to get dunks. It's fun to get 3s, too, but it's all about sharing the ball."

Devin Booker scored 59, and his shot-making had the Suns down only 14 entering the final quarter, but Utah's dunk-fest continued even with Gobert on the bench. Favors had two jams around a rare dunk by Ingles, and the Jazz cruised from there.

Still, some of the loudest cheers of the night were for a Suns player: Jimmer Fredette, the Naismith Award winner at nearby BYU, went 1-for-10 for six points in 14 minutes in his second game back in the NBA after completing his season in China, saying afterward he was pretty amped-up.

"I expected some of that, but that was amazing. It just shows the passion of the fans in Utah," Mitchell said. "I watched him growing up, and it's pretty special to come back home and have that feeling."

After a tight first quarter, the Jazz scored 14 unanswered points, capped by Mitchell's 3-pointer, to open a 40-23 lead in the second quarter. Booker scored 18 second-quarter points, but the balanced Jazz outscored Phoenix 36-22 in the period to take a 62-43 halftime advantage.

The Jazz had the most difficult schedule in the NBA at one point but are now capitalizing on facing a host of teams outside the playoff race. This win was the first game of a four-game homestand against teams well below the .500 mark.

The Suns have lost six of seven and four in a row.

Beyond Booker, the Suns were missing most of their firepower due to injury. The absence of T.J. Warren (averaging 18.0 points), Kelly Oubre Jr. (15.2), Josh Jackson (11.0) and Tyler Johnson (10.9) forced some players to be more aggressive offensively and Booker to carry a heavy load despite a lot of defensive attention.

The Jazz just didn't let any other Phoenix player score more than nine points.

"We tried to make it as difficult as possible, but when (Booker) is hitting fadeaways on the baseline when he is falling out of bounds, it comes to a point where you got to just tip your hat," Mitchell said.

TIP-INS

Suns: Richaun Holmes got two quick technical fouls and was ejected after getting whistled for a rebound foul just before halftime. ... The Suns didn't run a complicated offensive system, as they mostly screened for and passed to Booker, but still committed 22 turnovers. ... Booker set the Suns single-season mark with 13 games of more than 35 points.

Jazz: Utah outscored Phoenix in the paint, 70-32. ... Gobert's previous season best was 26 against Oklahoma City on Feb. 22. ... The Jazz have won 30 consecutive home games when making at least half their field goal attempts.

UP NEXT

Suns: Return home to play Houston on Wednesday, the first game of a five straight at home.

Jazz: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.