PHOENIX -- The Suns stormed back in the fourth quarter to edge the Atlanta Hawks, 121-117, in Phoenix Saturday.
Next up, the Hawks will continue their West Coast road trip in Golden State Monday.
Below are some takeaways from the loss:
1. After getting clobbered in back-to-back second halves against Brooklyn and Utah, the Hawks seemed to be setting themselves up for a win before collapsing in the fourth quarter. Trae Young took over in the third quarter with 14 points and six assists, helping the Hawks win the period 40-27 and take a 98-86 lead entering the fourth. That’s the most points they’ve scored in a single quarter this season. Hawks coach Nate McMillan had been emphasizing conditioning and playing for a full 48 minutes, and although they played well in the third, the Hawks made too many mistakes down the stretch to come away victorious.
2. In the fourth quarter, the Suns came charging back, with three free throws from Landry Shamet making it a three-point game with 5:33 to play. A triple and jumper by Devin Booker tied it at 113-113 with 2:07 left, and a dunk by Frank Kaminsky put the Suns ahead, 116-115, with 45 seconds to go. Young missed a 3-pointer and Jae Crowder made a layup on the other end, so the Hawks were facing a 118-115 hole with 19.3 seconds left. Bogdan Bogdanovic (18 points, seven rebounds) air-balled a 3-point attempt and the Suns were able to pull away for the win in the final seconds.
3. Dating back to the loss to Washington on Oct. 28, the Hawks have now lost five of their last six games. This loss dipped them two games below .500, at 4-6.
4. Devin Booker proved hard for the Hawks to contain, leading Phoenix in scoring with 38 points, to go with six rebounds and four assists, going 5-for-9 from 3-point range. The Suns were missing Deandre Ayton, their third-leading scorer (14.2 points per game) and leading rebounder (11.3 rebounds per game).
5. Despite the miss in the final minute, Young finished with 31 points (10-23 FG, 4-9 from 3, 7-8 FT) and recorded a season-high four makes from beyond the arc after struggling shooting from 3-point range to start the season (25.5%, or 12-47, through their first nine games). The Suns entered Saturday’s game as one of the three teams averaging fewer 3-point attempts per game than the Hawks (9.7 makes on 28.9 attempts to the Hawks’ 10.2 makes on 30.1 attempts), but went 14-43 (32.6%) from 3-point range, to the Hawks’ 13-33 (39.4%).
Stat of the game: 35-19 (what the Suns outscored the Hawks by in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback)
Star of the game: Booker (led the Suns in scoring with 38 points)
