Defense? What defense?
Coach Mike Budenholzer has not been pleased with the Hawks’ defense during their recent losing streak. Well, they didn’t play much in the first half against the Suns Sunday night. It cost them again.
The result was a Suns’ 129-120 victory over the Hawks at US Airways Center. The Hawks (26-32, 9-21 road) have lost three straight and 11 out of 12 overall.
“I think it’s defensively where we are not seeing the positives that we want to see,” Budenholzer said before the Hawks departed on their five-game western road trip.
Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 29 points. Mike Scott (20 points) Kyle Korver (18), Lou Williams (15), Elton Brand (13), Shelvin Mack (11) and DeMarre Carroll (10) all scored in double-digits.
Teague is averaging 27.2 points in the past four games. Korver, who hit six 3-pointers, extended his NBA-record streak to 127 games with a long-range basket. Williams has scored in double figures in seven straight games. Mike Muscala made his NBA debut and had four points and five rebounds. He became the first player from Bucknell to appear in a regular-season game when he entered in the second quarter. With two blocked shots, Brand tied Elvin Hayes for 21st in NBA history (1,771).
The Suns (35-24, 21-11 home) have won two straight. Gerald Green led the Suns with 33 points and Goren Gragic added 19 points.
The Hawks rallied from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter. They went on a 29-16 run to and trailed by just a point, 95-94. The Suns ended the quarter on a 7-1 run to take a seven-point edge into the final period.
The Suns raced – literally – to a 79-65 halftime lead. They scored 40 first-quarter points, the most allowed by the Hawks in any quarter this season. The halftime point total was the most allowed in any half this season, nine more than the 70 the Heat scored in the first half Jan. 20.
The Suns were 12 of 18 (67 percent) from 3-point range in the first half. They shot 29 of 46 (63 percent) from the field through two quarters. They used a 25-12 second-quarter run to go up by 14 points, 65-51. The lead would grow to 16 points before Williams hit a pair of free throws to end the half. Green had 21 first-half points, including 5 of 6 3-point shooting, for the Suns.
Teague continued his recent aggressive offensive play with 17 first-half points.
The Hawks continue their five-game western road trip Wednesday in Portland.
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