National Basketball Association
Preview
Atlanta at Phoenix
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 9, 2025
Where: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona

It will be hard for Trae Young and Atlanta to top Tuesday's win at Salt Lake City, but the Hawks will nonetheless look to finish their six-game road trip in style against the slumping Phoenix Suns on Thursday.

Young drained a half-court buzzer-beater to lift the Hawks over the Jazz 124-121 in the Hawks' last game. Young's 24 points and 20 assists helped snap Atlanta's three-game losing streak.

Young has scored at least 20 in 10 of his last 11 games and has reached the double-digit mark in assists in 26 of 35 games this season.

"I think he's taken a lot of pride in being efficient," Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said of Young. "Knowing when it's time to give the ball up and when it's time to impress himself on the game from a scoring standpoint, that's a growth process for him."

As for Young's game-winner, it wasn't a shot the Atlanta star hadn't taken before.

"We practice those shots growing up and even just having fun in practice," he said. "I'm just glad I had the opportunity today to do it in a game and win it for us."

Young's 22.6 points per game paces Atlanta, while his 12.2 assists per game lead the league. His 427 assists are the most in the NBA by a wide margin, as Tyrese Haliburton is second with 338.

De'Andre Hunter averages 19.7 ppg, but the Hawks will be without Jalen Johnson (19.8 points, 10.1 rebounds), who will miss his third straight game with a shoulder injury.

Having lost five of its last six, Phoenix is looking to open a three-game homestand with a much-needed win. Since Dec. 15, the Suns are 2-8 and are coming off a 115-104 road loss to the lowly Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.

The Suns got 39 points from Devin Booker and 26 from Kevin Durant, but the team connected on just 8 of 33 from 3-point range (24.2 percent) in the defeat.

On the second night of a back-to-back, Phoenix saw the Hornets finish the first half on a 26-6 run as the Suns never regained the lead.

"We're trying to find success and do it day after day," Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said. "We didn't get it done tonight and we need to get it done. ... The first quarter we were in a great spot and then in the second quarter we couldn't maintain what we did in the first. It's always a 48-minute game. We've got to find a way to play for 48."

Durant's 27.4 points per game rank fifth in the NBA entering Wednesday, while Booker's 24.6 mark is 14th.

The Suns' 16-19 record is the franchise's worst through 35 games since the 2019-20 season, which was the last season Phoenix finished with a losing record and missed the postseason. Budenholzer, who beat the Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals during his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks (2018-23), coached the Hawks from 2013-18, leading them to their first 60-win season in 2014-15.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Day Night Div Conf
Atlanta 19-18 W1 10-7 9-10 2-2 17-16 4-2 13-7
Phoenix 16-19 L1 10-8 6-11 0-2 16-17 5-4 13-10
Last Meeting
Atlanta Phoenix
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
3/21/24 ATL 115 PHO 128 115 36 44.0 128 38 55.4
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Atlanta D. Murray 29 42.3 4
Phoenix D. Booker 30 66.7 4
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Atlanta C. Capela 10 5 5
Phoenix J. Nurkic 10 3 7
Assists Player  
Atlanta D. Murray 10
Phoenix B. Beal 9
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Atlanta T. Young 827 40.3 218
Phoenix D. Booker 781 42.5 197
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Atlanta C. Capela 350 127 223
Phoenix M. Plumlee 241 58 183
Assists Player  
Atlanta T. Young 449
Phoenix T. Jones 228
Quickchart Matchup
Atlanta Atlanta Off vs  Phoenix Phoenix Defense
Atlanta Off vs Phoenix - Points For 117.3 Points For
Atlanta Off vs Phoenix - Points Against 113.9 Points Against
Atlanta - FG% 46.4 FG%
Phoenix - FG% 46.4 FG%
Atlanta - Reb 45.5 Reb
Phoenix - Reb 44.6 Reb
Phoenix Phoenix Off vs  Atlanta Atlanta Defense
Phoenix Off vs Atlanta - Points For 111.8 Points For
Phoenix Off vs Atlanta - Points Against 119.8 Points Against
Phoenix - FG% 46.8 FG%
Atlanta - FG% 47.4 FG%
Phoenix - Reb 42.6 Reb
Atlanta - Reb 44.7 Reb