Bench dominates as Hawks rout Suns, eye No. 4 spot

1. This is quite an impressive win for the Hawks, knocking off the previous top team in the Western Conference and demonstrating what a healthy Atlanta team is capable of (granted, the Suns played an overtime game Tuesday and were on the second night of a back-to-back). For the third game in a row, the Hawks had only two guys out due to injury (De’Andre Hunter with right knee soreness and Cam Reddish with right Achilles soreness), a huge departure from the six- or seven-player injury reports that had become the norm. With playoffs looming, and with the Hawks hopeful to avoid the play-in tournament, it seems like they’re getting healthy at the right time.

2. With so many weapons available, the bench thrived, and overall has looked much better the past few games as the rotation stabilizes. The second unit (consisting of Lou Williams, Kevin Huerter, rookie Onyeka Okongwu, Solomon Hill and Danilo Gallinari) inherited a nine-point lead and opened the fourth quarter on an 14-0 run to take a 23-point lead, and the Hawks emptied the bench up 31 points with 3:31 to play. Zero Hawks starters played in the fourth, but the Hawks still outscored the Suns 38-15, turning it into a blowout. “I’m really impressed. ... Tonight, they broke it open again for us,” interim coach Nate McMillan said of the second unit. “It’s good to get that combination going. It’s chemistry, and have some healthy players, where we can get a flow with both units. But they were great again tonight.”

3. Recording a season-high field-foal percentage (63.1%), shooting 50% from 3-point range (13-for-26), tallying their second-highest point total of the season (135) and tying a season-best 35 assists, the Hawks’ firepower was evident in this game. No individual player scored more than 18 points in the balanced attack. Of the starters, Clint Capela led with 18 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, Bogdan Bogdanovic had 16 points, six rebounds and two steals and Trae Young had 16 points and 12 assists. Off the bench, Gallinari had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, Williams had 16 points, four rebounds and five assists, Okongwu had 14 points and seven rebounds and Huerter had 13 points and two assists.

4. This was Okongwu’s best game all season, as he continues to show steady progress and maturity in the second half of the season. His 14 points set a career-high, and he added three steals and one block in 18 minutes. Okongwu was a plus-33 and, in the fourth quarter, scored six straight key points (including a killer dunk) to give the Hawks a 15-point lead with 10:33 left.

5. The fourth-place Knicks lost to Denver Wednesday, so the fifth-place Hawks are just a half game back from them now. The Hawks’ schedule has been tough all year, but the final stretch brings a little good fortune — Thursday’s game in Indiana is their final away game before closing the regular season with four straight home games. Seven of their final eight games will come at home.

Stat of the game

28.6% (what the Suns shot from the field in the second half, after shooting 52.3% in the first half)

Star of the game

Okongwu (scored six straight points in the fourth to help the Hawks pull away, finishing with a career-high 14 points)

Quotable

“He seems to get better each time he steps out on the floor.” (McMillan on Okongwu)