Hawks Vs. Suns: Atlanta Comes From Behind To Hand Phoenix 101-99 Loss

The Atlanta Hawks split the first two games of its current five-game road trip which will continue on Saturday against the Portland Trail Blazers and former Hawks sixth man Jamal Crawford.

After losing to the Lakers on Tuesday, Atlanta scored a come-from-behind 101-99 win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. The Hawks got 30 points and 17 rebounds from Josh Smith in the win over the Suns to snap a two game slide.

Atlanta earned a 92-89 victory over the Trail Blazers back on January 18 at Philips Arena. That win was part of a four game home winnings streak for the Hawks. Joe Johnson scored 24 points in the early matchup while Josh Smith added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jamal Crawford scored 22 points in his first return to Atlanta since signing a free agent contract with Portland over the summer.

Portland has won just four of its last 10 games and snapped a two game losing streak on Wednesday with a 93-91 win over Golden State. The Blazers are 16-14 overall but are 11-4 at home this season. Portland could be without injured forward LaMarcus Aldridge who sat out Wednesday night's win with an ankle injury.

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Josh Smith led a charge in the second half as the Atlanta Hawks came from behind to defeat the Phoenix Suns 101-99. Atlanta fell behind early and had to scrap and claw its way back into the game before Josh Smith got things going in the third quarter.

Smith had a dunk and a couple of three-pointers to help fuel a 12-0 run for the Hawks. Josh put the rest of the team on his back finishing with 30 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and three blocks. Just a solid performance when the Hawks needed him the most. Willie Green made up for an off night by Joe Johnson by scoring 20 points off the bench for Atlanta. Green hit 5-8 shots including 4-6 shooting from three-point range.

Jeff Teague did most of his damage early on and finished with 16 points and five assists. Zaza pachulia was also solid finishing with 15 points.

After allowing the Suns to shoot nearly 70 percent in the first half, the Hawks did a couple of different things in the second. One they were much more aggressive while defending Steve Nash and the pick and roll and they got after it on the glass.

Steve Nash was once again amazing finishing with 22 points and 16 assists. Grant Hill added 18 points while Channing Frye and Marcin Gortat each finished with 13.

Atlanta evens its record at 1-1 on its current five-game road trip and snaps a two-game losing streak.

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The Atlanta Hawks fell behind early and have played catch up ever since and head to halftime trailing Phoenix 56-47. The Suns used a 14-0 run in the first quarter to take control of the game and put the Hawks scrambling to stay in the game.

If the Hawks are going to have a hope of getting back into this game then they are going to have to do a much better job defensively. The Suns shot over 67 percent in the first half led by Steve Nash's 15 points and eight assists. Grant Hill added 12 points and the Suns out rebounded the Hawks 21-13 in the first half.

Jeff Teague got off to a fast start hitting 5-8 field goals and 2-3 from downtown for 12 first half points. Josh Smith finished with 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in the half. Zaz Pachulia and Willie Green both chipped in eight points. Joe Johnson struggled through the first half hitting just one of his six shot attempts and has three points at halftime.

For more on this game Hawks fans should check out Peachtree Hoops while Suns fans should join the conversation at Bright Side Of The Sun. For more NBA news and analysis head on over to SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.

Injured Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collins had his injured elbow examined by his doctor today but the injury still hasn't healed according to coach Larry Drew.

#Hawks C Jason Collins (elbow) saw doc today. Drew says he's still not healed. Didn't commit to another 10-day for Dampier

— Michael Cunningham (@ajchawks) February 16, 2012

Atlanta signed center Erick Dampier to a 10-day contract to add depth and size to its front court for the five-game road trip. Dampier played just over 16 minutes in Tuesday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and did acceptable work against Andrew Bynum.

Although Drew didn't commit to Dampier for another contract it is likely that the Hawks will offer another 10-day deal to Dampier once his current deal runs out if Collins is still not ready to return from injury.

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The Atlanta Hawks will hold Tracy McGrady out of the Wednesday's game against the Phoenix Suns to give the veteran time to rest after playing against the Lakers on Tuesday.

Drew says #Hawks F Tracy McGrady won't play tonight because of 2nd night of back-to-back.

— Michael Cunningham (@ajchawks) February 16, 2012

McGrady has been a key contributor off of the Hawks bench this season averaging 6.7 points per game. He has played in 25 games for the Hawks this season and is averaging 18 minutes off the bench. At age 32, Mcgrady has a lot of NBA mileage on his legs and the Hawks will take advantage of two scheduled off days before Saturday's game in Portland to let McGrady rest up.

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Injured Hawks center Jason Collins is with the club on as they begin their five-game road trip in Los Angeles but is unlikely to play on the trip according to a report by Hawks beat writer Michael Cunningham.

Jason Collins (elbow) has joined the team here but Larry Drew said it's doubtful he will play on the trip. That means there's a pretty good chance Erick Dampier will stick around for a second 10-day contract.

Atlanta added Dampier with the hope that he could provide some much needed size to the Atlanta front court. Dampier checked in midway through the first quarter of Tuesday's game against the Lakers as the Hawks scrambled to try to matchup with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

Collins told Cunningham that his elbow was feeling better and that he would see his doctor on Wednesday.

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