The Atlanta Hawks came out with a big win on Tuesday, April 5, beating the Phoenix Suns 103-90. The win allowed the Hawks to remain in third place in the Eastern Conference standings. After back-to-back losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors, the Hawks needed a win to get back on track before the playoffs. With four teams separated by just half a game going into the game, a loss would have dropped the Hawks to the sixth seed.

The Phoenix Suns came out strong in the first quarter, shooting 8-11 from deep, including a buzzer beater. The Suns ended the quarter on a 14-to-3 run. Thanks to sharp shooting from guards Mirza Teletovic and Devin Booker, the Suns had all the momentum and a commanding 12-point lead heading into halftime. Booker led his team with 39 points, a big part of which was shooting four of nine behind the arc. The young star from University of Kentucky is all Phoenix has to be proud of at this point in the season. Teammate center Tyson Chandler also helped out with a double-double during his 36 minutes (10 points, 13 rebounds).

The story of the night, however, was the Hawks’ defensive turnaround in the second half.  After letting up 38 points in the first quarter alone, the Hawks held the Suns to 34 points in the second half. Huge steals from Hawks guards Kent Bazemore and Dennis Schroder to start the fourth quarter both led to easy layups at the other end. Bazemore had 17 points to go along with his five steals, justifying his 30 minutes a night once again.

“Most of our motivation was having something to fight for going into the playoffs,” Hawks forward Paul Millsap said when asked about the team’s comeback. “[The Suns] don’t, and obviously we’re the better team.”

The Hawks are coming into their final stretch of the season with four games remaining against Toronto, Boston, Cleveland and Washington. Each game is becoming increasingly important as the Hawks look to remain in the top four in the East and keep that precious first round home advantage. Third seed is the ideal position, though, as the Hawks would avoid having to play the talented Cavs until a conference final rematch.

The Hawks will take the court again on Thursday, April 7 at home against the Toronto Raptors.

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