Atlanta Hawks secure dramatic 101 – 99 victory over Phoenix Suns – NBA Recap
Led by Josh Smith’s season high 30 points and 17 boards, the visiting Atlanta Hawks banked their 10th victory on the road, as they out gunned Phoenix Suns 101 - 99 after a closely contested match at US Airways Centre.
The Hawks improved their NBA record to 19-11 while the Suns, who have lost three in a row, fell to 12-18 after this game.
Atlanta reserve Willie Green was the only player off the bench to break into double figures as he netted 20. Jeff Teague had 16 and centre Zaza Pachulia scored 15 points in securing the season’s 19th win for Hawks.
For the Suns, Steve Nash was on song as usual. The veteran had 22 points and 16 assists in another splendid showing. Forward Grant Hill netted 18 and had 6 boards while Channing Frye recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Marcin Gortat
scored 13 points and 11 points were recorded by Jared Dudley.
The game remained tight in the early moments, but with 05:40 left before the end of the opening frame, Suns pulled a huge 14-0 run that completely outmatched the visitors.
With this run they stretched their lead to 31-17 and by the end of segment Hawks could only add 4 more points, narrowing the huge gap to 10 points.
With Suns in lead, 31-21; Hawks opened the second quarter with a free throw from Smith followed by a 16-5 run to trim the lead to just 2 points at 40-38.
Phoenix rebutted with a pair of 3-pointers from Nash and Frye, followed by Dudley’s reverse layup the Suns were back in the comfort zone with a 50-42 lead. With an additional couple of freebies and a jump shot they capped off the segment at 56-47.
Phoenix had a 6-0 run in the start of third stanza that left the visitors further away at 62-47. Hawks displayed their resilience with an 8-2 run scratching the deficit to 64-55 with 07:50 in hand.
Atlanta pulled off another 8-1 run at the end of third quarter that scratched the trail to just 4 points. With Suns leading 77-73 the game entered into its last 12 minutes.
Hawks, who were determined to win, took full advantage of the last frame. They made a 12-0 run that helped them eat away the 81-76 deficit and converted it into an 88-81 lead with 06:01 on clock.
With this dramatic twist both teams went all offensive and kept on scoring simultaneously. It all came down to the last 8 nail biting seconds of the game with Hawks having a slender lead of 99-97.
Hawks drained two clutch free throws, and when Nash missed a crucial 3 pointer with only 4 seconds left, the Suns knew their chance had gone.
As time expired Hawks embraced their narrow but hard earned 101-99 victory.
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