By Tiffany Williams –
Atlanta Hawks (27-28) vs. Phoenix Suns (30-26)
Thursday night the Atlanta Hawks return home to State Farm Arena for a meeting with the Phoenix Suns. This contest marks the second time these two clubs have met each other in eight days. Their first meeting of the year was in Phoenix on February 1, and the Hawks took a 132-100 victory. In that contest, defensively the Hawks held the Suns to shooting just .143% from deep (4-28 3FG), marking the fourth time in franchise history the club has held its opponent to less than .150% from three-point land (min. 25 FGA).
The Hawks enter Thursday’s game having handed out 25-or-more assists in a season-long five straight games, tied for the third longest such active streak in the NBA. Also, over Atlanta’s last five contests, the team is averaging 28.4 dimes per game.
Monday night against New Orleans, Trae Young dished out a season-high tying 16 assists, to go along with 16 points, three rebounds and one steal in 36 minutes. Dejounte Murray, through his first 50 games as a Hawk has totaled over 1,000 points (1,057), 200 rebounds (272), 300 assists (313), 75 steals (81) and 15 blocks (17). Murray is the only player in the NBA this season to tally over 1,000 points, 200 rebounds, 300 assists, 75 steals and 15 blocks and he’s the first Hawk since 1950-51, to tally over 1,000 points, 200 rebounds and 300 assists within his first 50 games with the club.
Thursday night at State Farm Arena is Pride Night. Tip off is at 7:30 pm EST and you can watch the game on Bally Sports Southeast.
Brooklyn Nets (32-22) vs. Chicago Bulls (26-28)
The Brookly Nets on Thursday will host the Chicago Bulls at the Barclays Center. A win for Brooklyn Thursday night would improve their record vs. Eastern Conference opponents to 23-11. It would also prevent Brooklyn from losing three straight games to Chicago for the first time since 2016.
Tip off at the Barclays Center is at 7:30 p.m EST. This contest will be live on TNT.
Atlanta Sports Journal 