Suns Use Defense to Win; Hold Atlanta to 30 Second-Half Points

Written by Joseph Tames Friday, 19 February 2010 22:19

Phoenix, Ariz.—February 19, 2010. If the opening statement from Phoenix head coach Alvin Gentry’s press conference is “bet you didn’t think we could hold a team to 80 points,” then the Suns must have played well defensively. They did and with defense defeated the Atlanta Hawks 88-80 at US Airways Center.

Phoenix, which has had a habit of giving up big runs late in games, held the Hawks to 30 points total in the second half. With the game tied at 70-70 with 10:57 left in the fourth quarter, the Suns second unit went on a 13-0 run. The Hawks cut the lead to six with Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire on the floor but Nash hit a running 14-footer to seal the game.

Stoudemire led all scores with 22 points. Grant Hill followed with 16 points and Robin Lopez had 12. Channing Frye struggled from field, going 4-12, but had 10 points in 19 minutes. Nash, playing under the weather after a hectic All-Star schedule, scored six points.

Stoudemire, Lopez, and Richardson grabbed 24 rebounds between them, as the Suns out rebounded the Hawks 50-36. Nash had six assists and Jared Dudley had four steals.

The Hawks were led by Josh Smith, who had 21 points. Former Sun Joe Johnson had 19 points and Jamal Crawford added 11 points. Arizona Wildcat Mike Bibby scored six points.

Johnson and Al Horford each grabbed nine boards. Josh Smith had three steals to go with his four blocked shots.

Gentry was quite pleased with all aspects of the game. The Suns outscored the Hawks 52-36 in the paint and had a 15-6 advantage on second chance points. Phoenix, while only shooting 45 percent for the game, held Atlanta to 39.5 percent from the field. While the Hawks were only 3-14 from beyond the arch, the Suns were 2-18 own their own. Only Hill and Dudley connect from the 3-point line.

Phoenix (33-23) plays the new-look Sacramento Kings on Sunday, February 21, at US Airways Center. Tipoff is 6:00pm MST.

Atlanta (34-19) also plays on Sunday, February 21, against the Golden State Warriors. Tipoff is 8:00pm PST in Oakland.