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NBA Game Summary - Atlanta At Phoenix

Posted: 12:10 am EST January 14, 2009

(Sports Network) - Shaquille O'Neal scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Phoenix Suns in a 107-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Steve Nash tallied 23 points and six assists for the Suns, who have won three straight and six of seven overall. Leandro Barbosa totaled 22 points and Amare Stoudemire 17 in the win.

Josh Smith had 24 points and 10 boards for the Hawks, who have dropped four in a row. Mike Bibby chipped in 17 points and Marvin Williams 16 with 12 rebounds.

With just over two minutes left in the game, Bibby nailed a three-pointer to knot the game at 98-98.

O'Neal then went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe and, following a Bibby missed three, Nash buried a long jumper for a 101-98 lead with 1:13 left.

Smith missed a shot down the other end, and Stoudemire's jumper opened a 103-98 Phoenix lead with 29 ticks showing on the clock.

Smith then notched a tip-in to make it a three-point game with 21.8 seconds remaining.

Grant Hill, though, went 2-of-2 from the foul line on the next Suns possession for a 105-100 lead, which the club held through the final buzzer.

The Suns burned the Hawks for a 31-16 lead after the first frame but led just 50-46 at the break.

Bibby's three-point play and Flip Murray's jumper brought the Hawks within 70-68 with 3:40 left in the third.

Nash then added a 17-foot jump shot, but Atlanta responded with a Johnson jumper, a pair of free throws from Morris and a three-point play by Williams to take the lead, 75-73.

Phoenix, however, closed the third quarter on an 8-0 run to take an 81-75 lead into the final 12 minutes.

Atlanta managed to pull within a point but O'Neal's layup made it 98-95 with 2:56 left to play.

Game Notes:

The Suns are a season-high nine games over .500...Nash became the 19th player in league history with 1,300 three-pointers. He is also one of three players in NBA history with 1,300 threes and 7,000 assists (Tim Hardaway and Jason Kidd)...Barbosa scored in double figures for a season-high seventh straight game...Atlanta shot 41.6 percent from the field, while Phoenix hit 51.4 percent of its shots...The Hawks were 4-for-15 from three-point range, while the Suns were 11-of-21 from behind the arc...The Hawks are 7-11 as the visitor on the year...Phoenix is 12-7 at US Airways Center this season...The Suns have won three of their past four meetings with the Hawks. Atlanta hasn't had much success in Phoenix over the years, dropping 14 of its last 16 contests in the desert.

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