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Stefan Tonev
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Trae Young, Hawks end Suns’ winning streak
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Durant, traded from the Brooklyn Nets, did not join Phoenix for the game

Trae Young scored 36 points and the Atlanta Hawks defeated the short-handed Phoenix Suns, still awaiting the arrival of newly acquired Kevin Durant, 116-107 on Thursday night.

Dejounte Murray had 19 points and John Collins had 16 for Atlanta.

Both teams made improvements to their teams for the second half of the season – the biggest get for the Suns was Kevin Durant, while the Hawks were able to get a rotational piece in Saddiq Bey.

Unfortunately, neither team was able to show off their new players.

Josh Okogie poured in 25 points and Deandre Ayton added 23 points for the Suns, who had their three-game winning streak end.

Phoenix had only nine players available after trading Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges as part of a package for Durant, the 13-time All-Star, before Thursdayā€™s trade deadline.

Durant, traded from the Brooklyn Nets, did not join his new team for the game, but the anticipation for his arrival is growing.

ā€œYou can put him on any team and heā€™s going to fit,ā€ Suns guard Landry Shamet said of Durant before the game.

ā€œHe knows how to play. Heā€™s played in a number of different systems. Heā€™s insertable in any of them. You can throw it to him and heā€™s going to go score every time. Heā€™s going to make the right play.ā€

The Hawks also made roster adjustments after two trades. Atlanta traded Justin Holiday, Frank Kaminsky and two second-round picks to Houston for shooting guard Garrison Matthews and center Bruno Fernando.

The 6-foot-9 Fernando began his career in Atlanta in the 2019-20 season.

The Hawks were still awaiting the leagueā€™s approval of their addition former Detroit small forward Saddiq Bey as part of a three-team trade and sent five second-round draft picks to Golden State.

Atlanta, coming off a 2-3 road trip, played only their sixth home game of 2023. They play 17 of their final 27 regular-season games at home.

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