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Suns eclipse Hawks for sixth straight win
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-05 12:41
The Suns' early balance was too much for the overmatched Hawks, who lost
their fifth straight and fell to 2-14, the worst record in the league.
Eddie House and Boris Diaw each scored 14 for Phoenix, and Kurt Thomas
grabbed 11 rebounds.
Rookie Marvin Williams scored a season-high 17 points and had 11 rebounds for
Atlanta, mostly in the fourth quarter, and Salim Stoudemire had 14 points.
Johnson went to the Hawks on Aug. 19 in a sign-and-trade deal for Diaw, two
conditional first-round draft picks and a $6 million trade exemption, which the
Suns used a portion of to acquire Jones from Indiana in another sign-and-trade
transaction.
Johnson was warmly greeted by his former teammates and Phoenix coach Mike
D'Antoni during pregame warmups, but the Phoenix fans were not so kind during
the introductions, offering much more boos than cheers. The crowd showed its
dislike even more for Johnson during the game, booing him each time he touched
the ball. As the game progressed, the booing got louder. Only when he committed
a foul or a turnover did the fans cheer.
Johnson had a sensational first half, scoring 21 points. After missing his
first three field goal attempts, he hit eight in a row.
Still, his effort wasn't good enough, as the Suns had a 57-36 lead at
halftime, with the help of Marion's 16 points, Jones' 13 and Diaw's 10.
The Suns virtually put the game away in the opening quarter, outscoring the
Hawks 25-10, Atlanta's fewest points in any period this season. During that
12-minute stretch, Atlanta was 4-of-20 from the field, including 0-for-7 by
Tyronn Lue. Atlanta also had seven turnovers, leading to 12 Phoenix points, and
by halftime, the Hawks had 12 turnovers, four by Johnson, helping the Suns score
18 points.
Phoenix held Johnson to two points in the third quarter and increased its
advantage to 37 points, 88-51, by the end of the period. The turnover parade
continued, with Atlanta committing nine more, leading to 11 Phoenix points.
The Suns, who had an 11-0 run spanning the first and second periods, had a
13-0 spree in the third quarter.
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