SALT LAKE CITY -- Tyrone Corbin didn't think he'd get much sleep Thursday night, and sure enough, he didn't.
Just hours after being named head coach of the Utah Jazz, the 48-year-old former Jazzman admitted he got precious little shut-eye the night before coaching his first NBA game.
"Two hours," he said Friday before making his debut against the Phoenix Suns in a nationally-televised game.
"You lay in bed and your mind just races," he added. "You think about a thousand things."
His mind certainly was racing during the second half of the game as the Jazz blew a 15-point lead and wound up with a deflating 95-83 loss at EnergySolutions Arena.
It was Utah's fourth straight home loss.
In a losing effort, All-Star point guard Deron Williams had 19 points and 14 assists, while teammate C.J. Miles also had 19 points.
Paul Millsap had 16 points.
The Jazz (31-24) lost for the fourth time this month.
Phoenix (26-25) came up with a strong second-half rally to beat the Jazz for the second time this season.
Point guard Steve Nash had 18 points and 10 assists and teammate Robin Lopez had 14 points.
The Suns were held to just 40 percent shooting from the field, but dominated the Jazz during the decisive third quarter.
For Corbin and his players, Friday's game marked the start of an era. Although things didn't end as they had hoped, their feelings were positive about the future.
"We have full confidence in Ty," Williams said. "We're going to do most of the same things now that Ty (is the head coach). Ty was under Jerry for seven years. He still has those same principles. He's going to have the same style, we're going to have the same offense. Hopefully we can keep moving."
Riding high with obvious energy, the Jazz appeared to have extra motivation as they played early on, breaking out to a an 18-4 lead midway through the first quarter.
Williams, who received a mixed reaction from the crowd when he was introduced before the game, led the charge by scoring eight points and dishing out six assists in the first period.
Utah led 31-19 at the end of the quarter and saw it rise to 36-21 early in the second.
However, the Suns gradually began to push back and cut the lead to 56-44 at the halftime break.
They kept it going after halftime, outscoring the Jazz 27-13 in the third.
The Jazz were held to just 36 percent shooting from the floor, while the Suns hit 48 percent.
Lopez led the third-quarter attack, scoring 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting.
Nash, a two-time MVP, scored six points and had four assists in the quarter.
Despite the up-and-down nature of the game, Jazz players expressed their support for their new coach.
Miles, who started at shooting guard in place of the injured Raja Bell, said Jazz players are comfortable with Corbin.
"It's good that it's Ty," he said. "The majority of the guys, we've been with him for a while now."
The Jazz will have a few days to regroup now. Their next game isn't until Feb. 15, when they visit the Suns in Phoenix.
They will play host to the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 16, then have six days off for the All-Star break.
"All we can do now is move on an play hard," Miles said.
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