The Hawks took care of business at State Farm Arena against the Suns 116-107 on Thursday night. It was trade deadline day, and the Hawks gained some depth, adding Detroit Pistons forward Saddiq Bey and Houston Rockets shooter Garrison Matthews. Former-Hawk Bruno Fernando also came back in the Houston trade. Atlanta parted ways with seven second-round picks to do both deals. With the Suns making a huge splash, acquiring superstar Kevin Durant, their roster was depleted tonight, and Atlanta took advantage of this situation.
The Hawks got out of the gates quickly to open up an 11-6 lead. John Collins, who beat the trade allegations for the third year in a row, could not be stopped as he scored six early points. He threw down a ferocious slam over Suns power forward Jock Landale and led a fastbreak for a dunk to energize the State Farm Arena crowd. Atlanta’s active hands defensively forced the Suns into turnovers, leading to eight Hawks points in the opening frame. The Hawks built a 36-22 lead on an efficient 11 points from Trae Young, and they made sure to share the ball. Every Hawk who entered the first quarter scored. Clint Capela dominated the boards early, grabbing eight rebounds and holding De’Andre Ayton to zero.
Atlanta’s offense continued to generate quality looks in the early parts of the second quarter. Bogdan Bogdanovic hit two early threes to balloon the Hawks’ lead to 44-28. In contrast, Phoenix struggled mightily from beyond the arc, shooting just 2-14 with over six minutes left until halftime. However, after some early hot shooting, Atlanta converted just 5-20 from the field in the second quarter. The Hawks built a 19-point lead, but the Suns cut the deficit to 10 points with three minutes to go in the second. Atlanta finished the second quarter shooting 29% from the field with five turnovers; however, they still held on to a 56-47 lead at halftime. Young and Dejounte Murray each had 11 points. Ayton remained with zero rebounds but led Phoenix with 16 points. Josh Okogie energized the Suns off the bench with 11 points, including a strong, one-handed throwdown over Collins.
As the third quarter began, turnovers proved costly for Atlanta, as Phoenix cut the lead to 58-51. However, Young delivered two huge threes and Collins threw down a fastbreak jam during a 10-2 Atlanta run to ignite the crowd. The Hawks built their biggest lead at 75-56, and it looked like they would run away with the game; although, Phoenix had other plans. They forced back-to-back turnovers to cut the Hawks’ lead to 83-71. However, Jalen Johnson’s second-chance, and-one bucket capped off an 8-2 Atlanta run to end the third quarter with the Hawks leading 93-75.
The Suns made one more attempt to snatch a road win, as Landale converted an and-one opportunity to bring the Suns’ deficit to nine at 95-86. With the game hanging in the balance, Murray went to work in the mid-range to put Atlanta back up 99-86, and Young hit a miraculous 37-foot logo three to seal the win for Atlanta.
Young finished his masterpiece with 36 points (5-8 from three-point range), 12 assists and seven rebounds. Murray added 19, eight rebounds and five assists, while Collins totaled 16 points. Capela and Onyeka Okongwu, who put up 11 points, dominated the rebound battle with 17 and 11 boards, respectively.
Josh Okogie led Phoenix off the bench with 25 points, including three steals. Ayton dropped 23 points but only managed to grab two rebounds. Chris Paul had 15 (5-13 FG) with eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Damion Lee, the league’s leading three-point shooter, shot only 1-9 from beyond the arc for 10 points. Ish Wainwright gave the Suns good minutes off the bench for 17 points with three steals and two blocks.
Atlanta turned the ball over 18 times, but they dominated the rebounding battle 59-35 to seal the home victory. The Hawks will need to cut the turnovers down to ensure they keep leads throughout the game. Atlanta will set its sights on back-to-back wins as they welcome the rebuilding San Antonio Spurs to State Farm Arena on Saturday night.
