Suns, Diaw put away Hawks late By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 01/28/06 Boris Diaw and Joe Johnson swapped more than just locker room stalls during an August sign-and-trade deal that sent Johnson to the Hawks and Diaw to Phoenix. They traded fates, for this season at least, with Diaw joining one of the best teams in the league and Johnson one of the worst. In Diaw's return to Philips Arena Friday night they almost traded spaces again. Almost. The Hawks took the Suns to the brink for all 48 minutes of a game that was played at a breakneck pace from opening tip to final buzzer. When it was over, the Suns had escaped with a thrilling 110-106 win that improved their record to 28-15 while dropping the Hawks to 11-30 at the halfway mark of the season. Diaw was huge down the stretch, nailing a wide-open 15-footer for a 104-102 Suns lead with 1:07 to play and the game-clinching assist on a Leandro Barbosa layup for a 109-106 lead with 19.1 seconds to play. Steve Nash drilled a 26-footer with 35 seconds to play for the extra cushion. The Hawks had two chances to tie the game but Salim Stoudamire missed a 3-pointer from the left corner with 15.9 seconds to play and Tyronn Lue missed a 27-footer with 2.6 seconds left. Barbosa made the second of two free throws with .04 seconds to seal the win for the Suns, who won 24 hours earlier in Miami. "I definitely wanted to win this game because we needed the win, " Diaw said. "I enjoy coming back to the city and to the arena and playing against guys I know. I just wanted to play a good game and give my team what they needed to win." In a fantastic game marked by fantastic performances on both sides, the lead changed hand eight times in the fourth quarter alone, Diaw and Johnson took center stage. Diaw was magnificent all night, shooting and passing like the prodigious talent the Hawks believed him to be when they drafted him with the 21st pick of the 2003 draft. He finished with 25 points, on 11-for-17 shooting, eight rebounds and five assists in 42 minutes. "Boris came in here and kicked our tails tonight," said Hawks forward Al Harrington, who finished with 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. "And I know he wanted this win in the worst way. He wanted this game as bad as we did after the way they beat us out there in December." Johnson, who was the catalyst for the Hawks all night countered with a game-high 27 points, on 12-for-24 shooting, eight rebounds and five assists in 47 grueling minutes. "Joe is tough and he's a great player," said Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, who tried nearly everyone he played on Johnson during the game. "We put Shawn [Marion] on him to add some length to our defense, but Joe still managed to get off shots." Johnson's now 0-2 against his former team. But Friday night's loss stung a bit more because he knows the Hawks played the perfect game to beat the Suns. "It's tough because we had a great chance to win and we kept ourselves in the game and then didn't make the plays at the end, " he said. "They made some tough shots at the end, Steve's 3-pointer and Boris made that jumper. That was huge. "It's frustrating knowing that our record should be a lot better than it is. But we just have to take the bitter with the sweet and keep on playing." The Hawks play at Chicago Saturday night. 資料來源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0128hawks.html -- 新年快樂！ --

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