DENNIS Schroder powered a late surge to help the Atlanta Hawks put away the slumping Phoenix Suns, 95-91, and break out of a seven-game slide on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time) at the Philips Arena.
The Hawks had a scorching start and led by as much as 18 in the first quarter but the Suns refused to wilt, chopping down the lead and finally taking control early in the fourth, 78-71, as Atlanta failed to score for more than four minutes.
Schroder then took over, hitting back-to-back triples to spark a 17-1 finish that sent the Suns reeling to their ninth straight loss. He ended up leading all scorers with 27 points.
Ersan Ilyasova finished with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds in another start for the injured Paul Millsap, who missed his sixth straight game due to a knee injury. Dwight Howard also dominated the paint with 15 markers, 11 boards and four blocks for the Hawks (38-36).
TJ Warren led the Suns (22-53) with 24 points, while Tyler Ulis had a double-double of 15 markers and 10 assists.