Utah Jazz: Rookie Matthews sparks rally, win

SALT LAKE CITY — When Wesley Matthews re-entered Monday's game with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Utah Jazz were trailing by 14 points.

Moments later, the Jazz closed the period on a 12-0 run to trim the Phoenix Suns' game-high 17-point lead to five. Utah opened the fourth with four consecutive points, and went on to outscore the Suns 33-19 in the final quarter.

And Matthews was on the court for every last second of the wildly thrilling turnaround.

Just a coincidence that Utah rallied to a third win in a row — a crazy 124-115 shootout victory over the high-flying Suns — with their undrafted rookie in the game?

Hardly.

"Wes came off the bench," said a complimentary Carlos Boozer, "and did a great job."

And that was just on defense.

After turning the ball over shortly after subbing in, Matthews helped give the Jazz a huge offensive boost. He hit an open 3-pointer and scored on a fast break during the late third-quarter spurt, and followed that with a 10-point fourth quarter with a couple of long balls to help lessen the blow from the 17 triples made by the scorching Suns.

Matthews finished with a career-high 21 points with five assists and four rebounds in a very effective 23-1/2 minute effort.

Think 29 other NBA teams wish they could do 2009 Draft Day do-over?

The overlooked Marquette product certainly proved his NBA worth in this one.

"I was just playing ball," Matthews said, "the same game I've been playing since I was 4 years old."

But he was playing it anything like a youngster or rookie. He played like a well-seasoned vet on both ends, including one stretch in which he poked the ball away from a driving and red-hot Goran Dragic, then raced down to the other end to get fouled on a layup attempt.

Matthews sank both free throws to put Utah up 115-109 with 3:46 remaining, a swing that came in an all-but-game-clinching 8-0 run.

Matthews radiated poise in the clutch on this night.

Coach Jerry Sloan also thought Matthews showed a fighter's spirit in the comeback win.