Atlanta Hawks Defeat Phoenix Suns 124-115

Recap

Trae Young, John Collins, Kevin Huerter, De'Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Clint Capela. I just wanted to type all of their names out.

The Atlanta Hawks just defeated the best team in the NBA - easily. Coming into tonight, the Phoenix Suns had the best record in the NBA by 9 games and had won 11 straight. They had a top-three offensive, defensive rating, and net rating.

The reigning Western Conference champions got ran off the floor. All-Star, All-NBA, MVP Candidate Trae Young cooked his mentor, Chris Paul, for 43 points. The floor general was the tip of the spear of the NBA's second-best offense.

The Hawks shot 20-41 (48.7%) from three. It's like all of their frustrations from the first half of the season exploded on an innocent team. Like when you've been having a bad day and then go off on the Starbucks barista for getting your coffee wrong (please don't do that, by the way).

Of course, the Suns hung tough. Devin Booker and Chris Paul combined for 50 points. The Suns even outscored the Hawks 60-40 in the paint. But ice-cold shooting from outside 9-32 (28.1%) from deep matched with the inability to extinguish the flaming-hot Hawks perimeter players cost them the game.

Shooters shoot 🎯 pic.twitter.com/lRwYnedjG2
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 4, 2022

Post-Game Interviews

Hawks head coach Nate McMillan heaped praise upon his point guard. "I thought he was great. He really was. He hadn't done anything in the last two days. So a little concerned about his conditioning. He said he felt good this morning during the walk-through, but he wanted to wait until game time to see how it felt. We certainly needed this performance out there tonight."

McMillan continued, "He's a competitor. Trae, he competes, and he gives everything he has when he's out there on the floor. Regardless of the situation, the moment."

When asked about his thoughts after defeating the best team in the NBA, McMillan gave insight into the locker room. "What I put on the board tonight was 'Believe.' They were 41-9, and they were coming in here with an 11-game winning streak. But we had to believe that we could do this."

The Hawks are on a plane right now to Toronto to play the Raptors tomorrow night. Tomorrow morning we will have your game-day preview. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's AllHawks.com for breaking news, highlights, and analysis.

Photos

Feb 3, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) is fouled by Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges (25) during the first half at State Farm Arena.

Feb 3, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) dribbles against Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul (3) during the first quarter at State Farm Arena

Feb 3, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul (3) tries to dribble past Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) during the first half at State Farm Arena

Feb 3, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (22) controls a rebound in front of Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) during the first half at State Farm Arena.

Feb 3, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) reacts after a foul on forward De'Andre Hunter (12) (rear) against the Phoenix Suns during the first half at State Farm Arena.

Stats

Hawks Leaders

Trae Young - 43 PTS, 5 REB

John Collins - 19 PTS, 10 REB

Kevin Huerter - 19 PTS, 3 AST

Suns Leaders

Devin Booker - 32 PTS, 3 AST

Mikal Bridges - 24 PTS, 8 REB

Chris Paul - 18 PTS, 12 AST

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