Utah Jazz: Suns spoil home-opening fun

This was the second straight night that Utah fell behind by nine points early on (11-2 against Phoenix) and gave up 110 points. Making matters worse, the Jazz have yet to hold a lead in the regular season after winning all eight preseason games, including two wins over the Suns.

"It was a tough loss, but we just have to see how tough we are to try to work through this thing," Sloan said. "Expectations were very high, we realize that, and we'll see what happens with us."

The loss was not without some positives.

Millsap had another strong showing, finishing with 19 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. Kirilenko bounced back from a miserable opener, also scoring 19 points.

And Al Jefferson had a much better home debut than his first game with the Jazz on Wednesday. Coming off a six point performance, Big Al led the Jazz with 20 points and nine boards.

NOTES: Utah had won 14 of 17 previous home-openers but fell to 21-16 all-time in the first game in its arena. ... The Jazz were 5-0 on TNT in regular season and 4-0 at home, including the famous Sundiata Gaines' game-winner against Cleveland. ... A night after scoring 11 points in his first NBA game, Jeremy Evans did not play because of a coach's decision. Rookie Gordon Hayward had a decent first home showing, with six points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

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