Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns took on the Atlanta Hawks at home Tuesday night. Booker was looking to pick up where he left off after dropping 35 points on near-perfect shooting Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets. Atlanta hoped to get back on track after suffering a blowout loss to the Denver Nuggets in their last outing.
Letting ‘em fly
The Suns set the tone early, letting three-pointers fly without hesitation. They maintained a lead throughout the entire first quarter. However, Atlanta tied the game at 27 apiece with a minute left. After Torrey Craig of the Suns drove the baseline for a vicious 2-hand jam, Phoenix took a 30-27 lead into the second. Craig finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds for the game.
The next period kicked off, with the Suns displaying a new sense of urgency. Six straight buckets helped push their lead up to 16, but Atlanta fought not to let things get out of hand. All-star guard Chris Paul made a couple of plays in the final minute of the half, including a sneaky steal that led to a lob in transition to Mikal Bridges. After a solid 12 minutes, the Suns went into the half, leading 64-52.
Close, but not enough
Atlanta cut the deficit to just 2 points in the third and continued their pursuit in the final period. They kept the game close for the duration and even tied things up at 105 with less than 3 minutes to play. However, they never could get over the hump. In the final couple minutes, Phoenix responded to show why they are sitting atop the West standings. The Suns’ Jay Crowder capped off an impressive performance with a 4-point play to put the game away.
The Suns (32-14) walked away with a hard-fought win over Atlanta (23-24) for their sixth win in their last 7 games.
A balanced output
Phoenix put forth a balanced effort, with 7 players scoring in double figures. Booker led the way with 21 points, and Dario Saric added 20 off the bench. Crowder pitched in 19 points, while DeAndre Ayton had a strong 13 points and 14 boards.
For the Hawks, Bogdan Bogdanovic doubled his season average to lead Atlanta with 22 points. Trae Young added 19 points and 13 dimes, and Clint Capela went for 16 points with a matching number of rebounds.
The Suns are back at it Wednesday night against Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls at 7:00 p.m. PST.
