Phoenix @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 14, 2019 ) Atlanta 112, Phoenix 128

The Atlanta Hawks were without star point guard Trae Young on Sunday, and the absence didn't help matters as the team dropped its fourth consecutive game. The Hawks hope to have Young back in the lineup when they host the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

Young is fourth in the NBA in scoring (28.9 points) and fifth in assists (8.4) and Atlanta shot 33 percent from the floor, including 12-of-48 from beyond the arc, without its leader in the 108-86 loss at Brooklyn on Sunday. "I thought the guys weren't really trying to make up for anything," Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce told reporters. "We had an off night as a group. It was the wrong time to have an off night as a group, and obviously you'd love to have Trae out there because he's a shot maker, but I take nothing away from the guys and the shots they had. They just had an off night shooting it." The Suns found their form on the defensive end in wins over Orlando and Charlotte in the last two games, holding the two to an average of 93 points to come out with a 3-2 homestand. "Two games in a row we hold an opponent under 100 points, (that's) really hard to do in the NBA and a team that shoots that many threes," Phoenix coach Monty Williams told reporters. "... Sometimes the effort and will of our players trumps the scheme and those guys just made plays at the end and we just did enough to win the game and had a good homestand."

TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: FS Arizona, FS Southeast

ABOUT THE SUNS (16-23): Shooting guard Devin Booker leads the team in scoring at an average of 26.2 points but was held to 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting in Sunday's 100-92 victory over the Hornets. "There are nights like this," Booker told reporters. "There are 82 games in a season. I just try not to have me making or missing shots affect the rest of my game. That is what they teach you when you are young. It is kind of hard when you are in the moment to not get frustrated. That is how you let your team down." Booker handed out nine assists and gave up some shots to small forward Kelly Oubre Jr., who finished with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting and 15 rebounds.

ABOUT THE HAWKS (8-32): Atlanta owns the worst record in the NBA and is using the season to develop talent around Young. Rookie small forward Cam Reddish stepped up without Young on Sunday and scored a team-high 20 points and went 4-of-8 from beyond the arc while adding a season-high five steals. "I feel like I was engaged, just locked in," Reddish, who is averaging 8.3 points on 32.5 percent shooting and 3.8 rebounds, told reporters. "That was just the result. Just trying to be energetic all over the floor."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Hawks PF John Collins slumped to a season-low eight points on 2-of-11 shooting on Sunday.

2. Oubre is averaging 23.1 points and 8.9 rebounds over his last eight games.

3. Phoenix earned a 128-112 win over Atlanta at home on Nov. 14 despite 21 points and 13 assists from Young.

PREDICTION: Suns 118, Hawks 109