Diaw leads Suns past Hawks

Steve Nash contributed 22 points, nine assists and eight rebounds and Shawn Marion added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Suns, who have won two games in a row.

"I enjoy coming back to the city and back to the arena and play against the guys I know," said Diaw. "I definitely wanted to win this game because we needed the win. I just wanted to play a good game and give my team what they needed to win."

Joe Johnson paced the Hawks with 27 points and seven boards and Al Harrington netted 16 and pulled down 12 rebounds in the loss, Atlanta’s second straight and fourth in its last six games.

Josh Childress’ tip-in gave Atlanta an 86-83 lead, but the Suns countered with a 9-0 streak, highlighted by Leandro Barbosa’s trey, to go ahead 92-86 with 8:09 to play.

Later, with Phoenix leading 104-102, Atlanta’s Salim Stoudamire drained a three to put the Hawks up by one point. However, Nash’s shot from beyond the arc with 35 second left put Phoenix up 107-105.

Harrington had a chance to tie the game at the foul line but only hit one free throw. After the Suns scored at the other end, Stoudamire and Lue each had open looks from long distance to tie the game but both rimmed out.

The Hawks connected on 2-of-9 from the field to begin the game but finished the quarter by sinking 12 of their last 18 shots. Johnson scored 11 points and Atlanta led 31-22 after 12 minutes of play.

The Suns came out strong in the second period by going on a 12-2 run, highlighted by Eddie House’s trey with almost nine minutes left to play in the half, to give Phoenix a 34-33 lead. The Hawks went on a 6 1/2 minute field goal drought to help fuel the streak and the Suns were up 57-50 heading into the third quarter.

The Hawks jumped ahead 64-63, courtesy of a 14-6 run to begin the second half, capped by Josh Smith’s jumper with 8:08 remaining in the third. Johnson tied the game 73-73 on a three-pointer at the 2:41 mark and the game remained tied at 80 heading into the final frame.

Game Notes

Phoenix shot 51.1 percent from the field, while Atlanta connected on 41.8 percent of its shots...The Hawks drained 16-of-17 from the line...Diaw has scored in double figures in 30-of-43 games this season...Phoenix has won five straight and seven of the last eight meetings...The Suns have won four consecutive games in Atlanta...Phoenix outrebounded the Hawks 49-41.