The Phoenix Suns beat the Atlanta Hawks 128-115 Thursday night at the Footprint Center. Atlanta could not overcome Phoenix shooting 22 of 41 from beyond the arc. Jalen Johnson did not play due to a right ankle sprain, which will be re-evaluated in one week.
De’Andre Hunter and Vít Krejčí hit three’s to start the night for Atlanta. The Hawks built an early seven-point lead thanks to 4-6 shooting from three-point territory. Thanks to crisp ball movement and hot shooting, every starter scored for the visitors early. The Hawks put together a 15-3 run extending the lead to 25-11. Dejounte Murray led Atlanta with 12 early points, and the Hawks had 12 assists as a team. However, the Suns countered quickly led by Devin Booker. The star guard scored 11 points quickly, bringing the Suns’ deficit to 37-30 after the first frame. Both teams shot at least 54% from deep and three-point range, and Murray totaled 16 points.
Bradley Beal gave Suns fans a thrill when threw down a dunk over Krejčí in a 7-0 run to start the second quarter to tie the game. After only one turnover in the opening frame, the Hawks had three early turnovers, which Phoenix turned into easy transition buckets. Atlanta’s offense struggled when Murray sat on the bench, but he made his impact immediately when he got back on the floor. He swiped Kevin Druant’s pass and had a wide-open fastbreak jam. Durant struggled early in the contest because Hunter’s defense made each shot difficult. The superstar started 2-9 from the field.
The Suns went on a 7-0 run to take a 47-41 lead, taking advantage of the Hawks’ offensive struggles. Atlanta scored six points in the first seven minutes of the second quarter. Royce O’Neale got hot from beyond the arc to continue Phoenix’s barrage from deep, while Clint Capela kept the Hawks close with four early offensive rebounds. The Suns took a 65-60 lead at halftime. Phoenix shot 55% from the field, but Atlanta forced 10 Phoenix turnovers to stay close. Murray led the Hawks with 18 points.
Krejčí fooled Jusuf Nurkić with a fake behind-the-back pass to finish a crafty layup. Shortly after, Capela blocked Grayson Allen at the rim but hit Nurkić in the face on the follow-through. The Phoenix big man had to go to the locker room but returned to the game in the fourth quarter. The contest remained a one-or-two-possession game for the early parts of the third frame. Fortunately for Atlanta, Booker collected his fifth foul with 5:36 left in the third frame. He sat the rest of the quarter. However, Allen and Eric Gordon got hot from downtown to give Phoenix a boost. The Suns put together a 16-6 run, including two threes by each of them, to go up 94-85. Atlanta pushed back immediately with an 8-0 run to make it a one-point game.
The Suns’ hot shooting continued to start the fourth quarter as they took their first double-digit lead of the contest. A 10-0 Phoenix run pushed their lead to 112-98. Careless fouls on three-point shooters from Bol Bol and Durant gave the Hawks a chance to crawl back into the game. Garrison Mathews scored seven early fourth-quarter points to lead Atlanta’s comeback. Durant’s flagrant foul on Mathews led to a five-point Hawks possession to cut the deficit to 113-106. A few minutes later, Murray committed a flagrant foul on Beal when he hit Phoenix’s guard in the face while driving to the rim. Murray controlled the offense down the stretch and hit a three to bring the deficit to nine, but Booker converted on a corner three with one minute left to cement the Sun’s victory.
Murray led the Hawks with 29 points, 10 assists, nine boards and four steals but shot 11-26 from the field. Hunter totaled 22 points and played great defense on Durant. Capela put up a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Bogdan Bogdanović scored 16.
Booker dropped 30 points, including 6-8 from beyond the arc, to lead Phoenix. Gordon and O’Neale both shot 4-6 from deep for 21 and 14 points, respectively. Durant totaled 19 (5-15 FG) points, and Allen added 13.
The Hawks return to State Farm Arena on Saturday after a 1-4 West Coast road trip. Atlanta will face the Charlotte Hornets looking for revenge after starting 0-2 against them this season.
