Marion and Jones pace Suns over Hawks

Boris Diaw-Riffiod added 14 points and nine rebounds while Eddie House also scored 14 for the Suns, who have won six straight games. Steve Nash had 10 points and seven assists in the win.

Joe Johnson scored a game-high 23 points, but only two came in the second half, for the Hawks, who have dropped five consecutive contests. Marvin Williams had a career-high 17 points and 11 rebounds while Salim Stoudamire posted 14 points in the loss.

Johnson played against his former team for the first time since leaving in a sign-and-trade deal in the offseason.

Phoenix jumped out to an 11-4 lead on Marion’s three-pointer and extended the margin to 12 on Kurt Thomas’ layup moments later. The Suns eventually led 25-10 after the first quarter.

Diaw-Riffiod continued to widen the gap when his bucket nearly three minutes into the second period made it a 21-point game. Atlanta never got close in the quarter and went into the locker room trailing 57-36.

Marion scored 16 points and Jones added 13 for Phoenix, which hit on 21-of-43 shots in the first half. Johnson had a game-high 21 points for the Hawks, who hit a dismal 14-of-40 from the field in the opening 24 minutes.

The Suns continued to blow it open in the third as they began the period on a 16-3 surge. Nash had five points during the early burst and the margin ballooned to 73-39.

Phoenix led by a whopping 37 points, 88-51, after three periods and played mostly reserves in the fourth quarter, making the final look a bit more respectable.

Game Notes

Phoenix has won seven of its last eight games...Atlanta is 1-8 on the road this year....The Suns have won four straight meetings and are also 12-1 in the last 13 encounters with the Hawks...Atlanta forward Josh Smith was ejected in the third quarter after being called for a Class 2 flagrant foul.