National Basketball Association
Atlanta 103, Phoenix 90
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Officials:
#30 John Goble, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #32 Marat Kogut
Attendance:
15176
By The Sports Xchange
ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks overcame a ragged first half and a big game from the Phoenix Suns rookie guard Devin Booker to stay on top of the Southeast Division.
The Hawks took advantage of 24 Suns turnovers and pulled away late for a 103-90 victory on Tuesday night despite 34 points from Booker.
"We turned it up a notch," Paul Millsap said. "We decided in the second half was enough was enough and got some stops."
Millsap had 13 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists and three steals in a victory that kept the Hawks (46-32) a half-game up on Miami and moved them 1 1/2 games ahead of Charlotte.
Down by 14 points in the second quarter, the Hawks started the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run to take control and continued to pull away in handing the injury-depleted Suns (20-58) a seventh straight loss.
Jeff Teague scored 20 points and all five Hawks starters reached double figures. Kent Bazemore had 17 points, nine rebounds and five steals, while Al Horford scored 16 points to go with 10 rebounds and Kyle Korver had 11 points.
"We came out in the second half and played a little more aggressive on the defensive end," Teague said. "I think Baze's energy rubbed off on the whole team with his steals and some dunks. It was downhill from there."
The Suns defeated the Hawks 98-95 on Jan. 23 in Phoenix when Archie Goodwin hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Coach Jeff Hornacek was fired four losses later, though, and the Suns, who lost Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and T.J. Warren to injuries, are 5-23 under interim coach Earl Watson.
"We make no excuses. We know what our roster situation is," Watson said.
The Suns, though, connected on 8 of 11 3-point attempts while building a 38-28 lead after the first quarter and hit twice more from behind the arc in the second quarter for a 56-44 advantage at halftime.
Ronnie Price missed just one of his five 3-pointers en route to 14 points first-half points. Booker had 12 points at the break and Miraza Teletovic 10, going a combined 5 of 8 from distance.
"Everything went right in the first half," Watson said.
Teletovic passed Chuck Person's NBA record of 164 3-pointers by a reserve set with San Antonio in 1994-95 by going 3 of 4 in the first half.
Phoenix, though, was 2 of 14 from behind the arc after halftime and Booker was the only Sun who kept putting up points.
"He's having an amazing year offensively," Watson said.
The Hawks, turning up the defensive pressure, went on an 11-0 run in the third quarter and were within 73-70 going in the fourth despite 13 third-quarter points by Booker.
"He's a really good player and I think he's only about 19," Teague said. "He can score the basketball and they ran a lot of plays for him."
The Suns, though, shot just 37 percent overall in the game despite the fast start and were only 18 of 30 at the foul line.
"It's been something we've been working on all season, trying to put two halves together," Booker said.
Tyson Chandler had 13 rebounds to go with 10 points for the Suns. Price finished with 14 points and Teletovic scored 12.
"We haven't done that good coming off breaks," said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, whose team lost in overtime to Cleveland on Saturday. "Any time you can find a win and hold somebody to 90, it's a good thing. There was an intensity and competitiveness to us in the second half, whether it was getting in the passing lanes or getting on the boards."
NOTES: The Hawks and Emory Healthcare announced plans for a privately financed $50 million training facility and sports medicine center just outside Atlanta in Brookhaven. Groundbreaking is expected in mid-May, with completion before the 2017-18 NBA season. The team currently practices at Philips Arena and owner Tony Ressler had listed a new facility as a priority since taking over the team. Minnesota (Mayo Clinic), Cleveland (Cleveland Clinic) and Chicago (Advocate Center) all recently opened similar complexes. ... Suns F Jon Leuer missed his third straight game because of a sprained right ankle. ... The Hawks complete a four-game homestand against Toronto on Thursday and Boston on Saturday before closing the regular season with two road games. ... The Suns finish a three-game trip at Houston and New Orleans before ending with two at home.
Top Game Performances
Phoenix |
|
Atlanta |
Devin Booker 34 |
Scoring |
Jeff Teague 20 |
Ronnie Price 4 |
Assists |
Paul Millsap 8 |
Tyson Chandler 13 |
Rebounds |
Paul Millsap 17 |
Devin Booker 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Paul Millsap 6 |
Ronnie Price 4 |
Steals |
Kent Bazemore 5 |
Archie Goodwin 2 |
Blocks |
Paul Millsap 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Phoenix
|
90 |
37.0 |
12-31 |
18-30 |
19 |
51 |
4 |
13 |
24 |
Atlanta
|
103 |
41.1 |
11-34 |
14-19 |
26 |
50 |
3 |
16 |
17 |
Upcoming Games
-
Atlanta will play their next game at home against Toronto. The Hawks have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .576 after a loss.
-
Phoenix will play their next game on the road against Houston. The Suns have a W/L % of .238 after a win and .263 after a loss.