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Monday, Jan. 29 7:30pm ET
Marion scores 25 as Suns pull away

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ATLANTA (AP) -- Jason Kidd hit a long 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter, and the Phoenix Suns never looked back.

Kidd's buzzer-beater seemed to spark the Suns, who completely stifled the Atlanta Hawks in the final quarter for a 95-82 victory Monday night.

Jason Kidd
Jason Kidd heaves -- and hits - a 40-foot shot at the end of the third quarter. The shot gave the Suns the "energy" to win in Atlanta.

"I was just trying to get a shot up. It happened to go in," said Kidd, whose basket gave Phoenix a 68-67 lead going to the final quarter. "I'm not sure it was a turning point, but it gave us some energy."

Shawn Marion scored 25 points to lead the Suns, who wrapped up a six-game road trip by claiming their second victory.

Atlanta has lost six of seven.

"We've got to play four quarters," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger said. "They're a quick, athletic team, and we didn't do the things we needed to do to counter them."

The Hawks are playing without point guards Brevin Knight and Matt Maloney, both on the injured list. Jason Terry, normally a shooting guard, has shifted to the point, where he was paired with rookie DerMarr Johnson for the second game in a row.

While Terry had 22 points and eight assists, he and Johnson also had six turnovers apiece.

"More than anything, it was the turnovers," Terry said. "On the perimeter, we've got to take better care of the basketball. You can't have 12 turnovers out of your backcourt. That's too many to overcome."

The Hawks, who trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, fought back for a 59-58 lead when Lorenzen Wright hit a turnaround jumper with just under four minutes left in the third quarter.

Terry scored on a driving layup with 2.8 seconds left to break a 65-65 tie, but Kidd heaved up a shot from nearly 40 feet away that swished through for a trey.

The Hawks never recovered.

"I saw a couple of guys' faces," Terry said. "They were like, 'Oh, no.' But we're still right there in the game. The first five minutes of the fourth quarter are crucial."

Atlanta went more than seven minutes without a field goal while Phoenix put together a 15-3 run that sealed the victory.

"We made a tremendous run in the third to come back and seemingly change the momentum of the game," Terry said. "But Jason Kidd is a great floor leader who knows how to dictate the tempo, and we couldn't find the basket at all."

The Hawks missed their first nine shots in the fourth and wound up making only 4 of 20 against Phoenix's scrambling, double-teaming defense. Atlanta also had six turnovers while totally melting down in the final quarter.

Having averaged just 82.5 points in their last two games, both losses, the Suns pushed the ball up the court at every opportunity. For much of the first half, the young Hawks didn't know how to react.

Atlanta's woes were epitomized by a four-possession stretch early in the second quarter. Marion dunked three times and Elliott Perry scored on a layup while the Hawks stood around, completely fooled by Phoenix's run-and-gun style.

The Suns went up 52-35 -- matching their biggest lead -- when Marion hit a 12-foot jumper with just over two minutes left in the half.

The Hawks scored the final eight points of the period to cut the deficit to 52-43. Then, Atlanta hit 10 of 19 shots in the third to get back in the game.

"We let our defense take away from our offense," Marion said. "We weren't doing what we were supposed to be doing on defense. We had to muck it up and play defense."

Game notes
Kidd, making his second start since being charged with domestic violence, had 14 points, seven assists and five steals. ... Atlanta, which used to be one of the NBA's best home teams, is 10-12 at Philips Arena this year. ... Former Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens returns to Atlanta on Wednesday with Toronto. ... The Hawks started Johnson and forward Chris Crawford for the second game in a row.
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RECAPS
Boston 99
Detroit 87

Washington 95
Cleveland 89

Phoenix 95
Atlanta 82

Minnesota 99
Milwaukee 96

Utah 97
Denver 91

Vancouver 97
New Jersey 86

Charlotte 93
Golden State 85

San Antonio 96
LA Clippers 67


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