Hawks at Suns
The Atlanta Hawks had a three-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday but have a good chance to start another one on Saturday. The Phoenix Suns, who host the Hawks on Saturday, have been helping a lot of teams get off to winning streaks of late.
The Suns have dropped six straight and 15 of their last 16 games, capped by a 117-89 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday. Phoenix’s season started to tail off before guard Eric Bledsoe was lost for the season, and the string of injuries is continuing with Brandon Knight (hip), Mirza Teletovic (ankle), Jon Leuer (back) and Markieff Morris (shoulder) going down of late. Atlanta fell into a 17-point hole at Sacramento on Thursday and climbed back to tie it before falling 91-88. “I think (Thursday) at times we were playing really well and then at other times we were a little careless with the ball and that turned into opportunities for them on the other end,” center Al Horford told reporters. “They fed off that momentum.”
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), FSN Arizona (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (26-18): Atlanta feels like it’s on the right track defensively with an average of 89 points allowed in the last four games despite Thursday’s loss. “Disappointing but hopeful,” forward Paul Millsap told reporters. “We know what we can do if we play a full game. That’s all we’ve got to do, play the whole 48 minutes.” The Hawks are using a 10-man rotation and left starting point guard Jeff Teague on the bench for the final 18 minutes on Thursday as Dennis Schroder led the comeback.
ABOUT THE SUNS (13-31): Phoenix is getting crushed of late and lost the last six games by an average of 17 points. Small forward T.J. Warren, who was benched due to a lack of hustle in a loss to Indiana on Tuesday, was forced into duty on Thursday and went for 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting in 33 minutes. Warren could continue to see an uptick in playing time if starter P.J. Tucker, who left Thursday’s game after taking a knee to the sternum and did not return, is unable to go on Saturday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Suns rookie G Devin Booker is averaging 28 points in the last two games.
2. Hawks G Kyle Korver is averaging 5.8 points over the last four contests.
3. Atlanta held Phoenix to an average of 78 points in winning both meetings last season.