The Hawks winning ways came to an abrupt end.
A sloppy effort – loaded with turnovers, poor shot selection and defensive breakdowns – resulted in a 92-87 loss to the Suns Friday night at US Airways Arena.
The Hawks had a four-game win streak snapped, losing for only the second time in the past eight games, and suffered their first setback on a season-long six-game road trip.
After starting the trip with wins over the Bucks, Pistons and Jazz in impressive fashion, it was an inconsistent effort that clearly reminded the Hawks there is work to be done.
“This is a tough game to swallow after having played so well the first three games of this road trip,” coach Larry Drew said. “As good as we were those first three game of the road trip, we were just as bad tonight. We did not play well from start to finish. The energy was not there from start to finish. We made entirely too many mistakes.
“I told the guys after the game, I thought we took a step back tonight. We reverted back to some bad habits. What is a little mind-boggling is the first three games of this trip how well we played, how well we shared the ball, how well we executed, defensively how active we’ve been. All those things took a back seat tonight.”
The Hawks (33-24) committed 20 turnovers in the loss which could be characterized as chippy at times. They remained in a fourth-place tie in the Eastern Conference with the Nets, who lost at home to the Mavericks.
Al Horford had 20 points to lead the Hawks in scoring, the eighth straight game he hit the 20-point mark. Kyle Korver added 17 points and ran his streak to 51 games with a 3-pointer.
“We are on a long road trip and we need to fight through these types of things,” Horford said. “Tonight was a game about growth for our team and it showed that we are not where we want to be yet as a team.”
Josh Smith finished with just five points on 2 of 11 shooting and 10 rebounds. He had five turnovers. Jeff Teague had six points, one assist, four turnovers and was called for a Flagrant Foul I.
“I didn’t have a good game,” Smith said. “We have been playing with a lot of confidence and been helping each other out on both ends of the floor. There were too many careless turnovers. We were not efficient on the fast break opportunities. It was definitely us. We weren’t knocking down shots that we usually make. We have to get back to the basics and watch the film. I know the sight of us won’t be a good look but we have to get it in and see what we did wrong.”
Devin Harris had 12 points and Anthony Tolliver had 11 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter as the Hawks tried to erase an 11-point deficit.
The Suns (21-39) won their third straight game. Goran Dragic scored 19 points, 14 in the first half, before leaving in the third quarter with a bruised back suffered from a fall after Harris was called for a tripping foul and then a technical for his reaction.
It was reserve Marcus Morris that did the most damage. He finished with 16 points and made 4 of 5 3-point attempts. The Suns as a team were 10 of 22 from long range.
The Suns led 45-39 at intermission after Morris hit two straight 3-pointers to end the half. They led by 11 points after a 14-1 run between the second and third quarters. The Hawks were plagued by nine first-half turnovers and Horford was forced to the bench with three fouls.
“I made the point about us getting over the hump, us turning the corner and for us to turn the corner it’s these type games that we have to be able to come out and play and come out and win,” Drew said. “We show signs of it, but I don’t think we are there.”
DeShawn Stevenson was hurt in the first minute of play when he dislocated his left middle finger catching a pass from Smith. Stevenson said the ball hit him directly on the tip of the finger. X-rays were negative and Stevenson returned in the second quarter.
The Hawks’ road continues a 3-1 road trip Sunday against the Lakers. It ends Monday at the Nuggets.
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