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Frye leads late charge as Suns hold off Hawks

Feb 24, 2011 - 5:15 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Channing Frye scored 20 points, including a pair of key jumpers at the end of the game, to give Phoenix a 105-97 victory over Atlanta.

Jared Dudley tallied 17 points, while Marcin Gortat added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who have won five of their last seven games. Steve Nash posted 13 points while dishing out 10 assists in the win.

"I thought we played well," said Suns head coach Alvin Gentry, who collected his 100th career victory, reaching the mark in just his 168th game. "I thought that we just went through that little stretch there where we didn't execute. I think that's the thing I've talked about all year long about consistency. You know, we play well and play well and then we hit the rut where we don't make the best of decisions and things like that -- we get ourselves in trouble. But I think we bailed ourselves out."

Josh Smith notched 26 points and six rebounds as the Hawks dropped their third straight contest. Jamal Crawford had 19 points while Al Horford added 17 points and nine rebounds in the loss.

The Hawks were with out the service of guards Mike Bibby and Jordan Crawford and swingman Maurice Evans as Atlanta traded them for Washington guard Kirk Hinrich and forward/center Hilton Armstrong just before the game.

Trailing 85-73 in the early stages of the fourth quarter, Damien Wilkins' three-pointer started a 14-3 run for Atlanta. Jamal Crawford capped the burst with a jumper to make the score 88-87 with seven minutes remaining.

The game remained close, until Phoenix went on a eight-point run to take a 100-92 lead with 2 1/2 minutes left. During that span, Frye hit his two jumpers to push Phoenix ahead for good.

From there, the Suns stayed in front by making their free throws.

"I think they just made some key plays down the stretch and we didn't get key stops when we needed to win," Smith said. "The game went their way in that case. You've just got to give them credit. It was one of those games, I was happy with our team's effort in the second half and I wish we would have maintained throughout the game."

Phoenix was up 33-31 after 12 minutes of play and pushed its lead to double digits, 47-37, on Mickael Pietrus' dunk with 6:39 left in the half.

Pietrus' dunk was part of a 15-3 run that gave the Suns a commanding 57-40 lead and they held onto a 61-47 edge into the half.

Phoenix's advantage dipped to nine a few times in the third but it still held a 80-71 margin into the final quarter.

Game Notes

The Suns have won 16 of their last 18 games against Atlanta in Phoenix...Nash moved to 10th place on the NBA's all-time list for three-point field goals made (1,547). He was 1-for-3 in the game...Both teams shot 50 percent from the three-point arc with Phoenix making 13-of-26, while Atlanta made 7-of-14... Gentry became the fourth-fastest head coach in franchise history to win 100 games.