These Hawks are the best in history.
Atlanta set a franchise record with its 58th regular-season victory as this remarkable campaign reached new heights.
The Hawks dismantled the Suns, 96-69, Tuesday night at Philips Arena for the record-breaker. The 60-win mark remains a real possibility with five games remaining before the top team in the Eastern Conference starts the playoffs with bigger goals in mind.
“Our fans, man, when I go out to eat fans come up and say how excited they are,” DeMarre Carroll said of the buzz in the city. “It’s almost like you can’t do that many places without them recognizing you. That was unheard of last year. Last year I could go out to eat anywhere. I could go to the Waffle House and they didn’t know who I was. This year, it’s changed. It just shows you how much everybody is excited about the team.”
The Hawks (58-19, 34-5 home) have swept the Pacers, Jazz, Heat, Rockets, Mavericks, Clippers, Trail Blazers, Timberwolves, Kings and Suns this season. The Hawks finish the season 22-8 against the Western Conference, tying a franchise record since becoming a member of the Eastern Conference in 1970-71.
The Hawks played without All-Star forward Paul Millsap, who will miss at least two games with a mild shoulder sprain. Mike Muscala started in his place and scored a game-high 16 points along with Jeff Teague and Carroll. Al Horford added 14 points in the lopsided victory.
“I’m very proud of our players, very happy for our organization, very happy for our city,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “To have the most wins in franchise history, I think it’s important to take a moment to recognize the work of our players, the organization and everybody in it. The city has been amazing. To see it get excited and to see us get the kind of support and enthusiasm has been great for our group.”
The Hawks led by as many as 31 points and improved to 50-4 when leading by 10 or more points at any point during a game.
The Suns (39-39) have lost six of their past seven games. The Hawks limited the Suns to 13 points in each of the third and four quarters. The Hawks scored more points in the fourth quarter (27) than the Suns did in the second half (26).
It marked the second-lowest point total in Suns history. The Suns scored on an uncontested layup in the final seconds to avoid breaking the 34-year-old franchise scoring low.
The Suns’ 26 second-half and 69 total points were season lows allowed by the Hawks.
“Defensively tonight, I thought we were pretty good,” Kyle Korver said. “Offensively, I didn’t think we were that great. I thought our intensity was great. (Muscala) really did a great job. He has so much length and it really gives us something new at the rim. His energy was really good.”
Carroll was 8 of 9 from the field en route to his 16 points. In the past four games, the forward is averaging 17.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Muscala was 7 of 8 from the field with seven rebounds. All 12 Hawks players that entered the game had at least a point and a rebound.
“I’m still learning,” Muscala said. “It’s a process but something I’m really working on. I’m trying to be better on offense and be more efficient and knowing when to shoot and when not to shoot.”
The Hawks took a 52-43 advantage into intermission after a chippy first half. Technical fouls were assessed to Mike Scott, Pero Antic, Carroll and Budenholzer and the Suns’ Marfieff Morris. Scott and Morris exchanged heated words after the Hawk drained a 3-pointer late in the second quarter. Morris appeared to put a shoulder into Scott on the opposite end of the court. Yet Scott was assessed a technical for swatting Morris’ hand away. Eric Bledsoe was hit with two technical fouls in the third quarter and ejected.
The Hawks led by as many as 14 points in the first half. Carroll (12) and Teague (11) scored in double-figures.
The Suns got as close as five points, 52-47, early in the third quarter. The Hawks answered with a 15-2 run to extend their lead back to double-digits.
The Hawks play at the Nets Wednesday in the second of back-to-back games.
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