Suns shoot for sixth straight win with Hawks in town

The Suns’ latest win came on Friday, as Eddie House scored nine straight points during a decisive 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to lift Phoenix past Denver, 102-97. House ended with 12 points, while Shawn Marion led the Suns with 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Kurt Thomas scored a season-high 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds and Steve Nash chipped in with 21 points and dished out 10 assists for the Suns, who have won six of seven.

The Suns, who will close their homestand against Portland on Tuesday, are 6-4 in their arena this season.

Atlanta, meanwhile, continued its miserable start to the season on Friday, as it dropped a 102-101 decision to the equally abysmal Toronto Raptors.

Joe Johnson had a career-high 34 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for Atlanta, which has dropped four in a row and suffered its 13th setback in 15 contests this year. Johnson, however, stepped out of bounds with 1.4 ticks on the clock and his team down two points.

Johnson will be playing his first game against the Suns since bolting the team in a sign-and-trade deal last summer. Johnson played a key role in the Suns’ march to the Western Conference finals last season, but owner Steve Belkin thought of him more as a role player rather than a star and did want to give him big money.

Atlanta, which will be starting a three-game road trip tonight, is 1-7 away from home this season.

Phoenix won both matchups with the Hawks last season and has won three straight and five of the last six overall meetings. Atlanta has also struggled as the visitor in this series, as it has dropped 11 of 12 as the guest.