Hawks bury Suns with barrage of late 3-pointers

Hawks Win On The Road

VIDEO PLAYLIST

PHOENIX — Paul Millsap scored 23 points and the Atlanta Hawks made five 3-pointers in the final 6:38 to pull away from the Phoenix Suns 96-87 on Friday night.

Kyle Korver added 14 for the Eastern Conference leaders, who had six players in double figures.

Markieff Morris scored 22, Eric Bledsoe 21 and Marcus Morris 18 for the Suns, who led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter and were up 73-65 entering the fourth.

Atlanta improved to 1-1 on its six-game road trip through the West. The Hawks opened the trip with a loss at Denver.

Millsap and Korver each sank two 3s and Kent Bazemore one in the Hawks’ late surge, when they went 5-for-6. Atlanta outscored Phoenix 31-14 in the fourth quarter.

Atlanta tied it at 77 with a 10-2 run capped by Al Horford‘s consecutive midrange jumpers.

Markieff Morris’ short baseline jumper gave the Suns their final lead 79-77 with 7:44 to play.

Then came the Hawks’ 3-point barrage.

Millsap, Korver and Bazemore each made one, extending the run to 19-4 and putting Atlanta up 86-79 with 4:02 to play. Korver’s second 3 made it 91-83 with 2:09 left, and Millsap’s final one put the game away at 94-85 with 1:32 to go.

The Suns fell three games behind New Orleans and Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot in the West.

Marcus Morris, P.J. Tucker and Bledsoe each hit 3-pointers in an 11-0 run to put Phoenix up 61-50, and the Suns led 71-60 after Archie Goodwin‘s lob to Brandan Wright for a dunk with 3:02 left in the third.

In the first half, Atlanta built a nine-point lead, but the Suns scored the next 10 to go up 40-39 on Goodwin’s 3-pointer. The teams exchanged the lead four times the rest of the half and Phoenix led 50-48 at the break.

The Suns’ Alex Len sprained his right ankle and was helped to the locker room with seven minutes to play. It’s the third time he’s sprained that ankle this season.

The teams met for the first time this season. They play again April 7 in Atlanta.

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TIP-INS

Hawks: Atlanta won its 21st road game, tied with Memphis for second most in the NBA. … Atlanta has not lost three in a row this season and has lost two straight only three times. … The Hawks are at Western Conference leader Golden State next Wednesday night.

Suns: Guard Brandon Knight missed his second game in a row with a sprained ankle. … The Suns are 17-11 against the Eastern Conference, 17-22 against the West.

UP NEXT

Hawks: Visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.

Suns: Host the New York Knicks on Sunday night.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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