The Suns had a monster first quarter and forced the Jazz to play on their heels for most of their NBA Cup group opener.

The Phoenix Suns win their NBA Cup West Group A play opener, defeating the Utah Jazz, 118-96, Friday night at Mortgage Matchup Center.

Devin Booker anotó 36 puntos y logró nueve asistencias para guiar el viernes a los Suns de Phoenix hacia una paliza de 118-96 sobre el Jazz de Utah, en un partido de la NBA Cup.

That shift came within the frontcourt in the form of two notable swaps. Instead of starting the combination of Kyle Filipowski and Walker Kessler at the four and five spots, Taylor Hendricks and Jusuf Nurkic would be the starting pairing to start the night for Utah–– one move made due to injury, and the other being a coaching decision.

For the first time in 27 years, a Utah Jazz player has scored 50 points in a regular-season game. They needed every one of them, too. Lauri Markkanen’s 51-point, 14-rebound performance pushed the Jazz to an overtime win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday.

The Phoenix Suns begin a three-game homestand on Oct. 29 against the Memphis Grizzles at Mortgage Matchup Center. The game begins at 7 p.m. and will air on Arizona's Family (3TV) in Phoenix. The Suns (1-3) went winless in their three-game road trip, losing the final one in overtime, 138-134, against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center on Oct. 27.

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns play host to the Utah Jazz in the first NBA Cup matchup of the 2025-26 season. The Jazz previously defeated Phoenix back in their overtime duel on Monday night but are considered betting underdogs on Friday at Mortgage Matchup Center.