Atlanta Hawks vs. Phoenix Suns Live Blog: Instant Reactions and Analysis

No Paul Millsap, no problem.

With their leading scorer and rebounder on the sidelines nursing a right shoulder injury, the Atlanta Hawks easily dispatched the Phoenix Suns, 96-69, in what was at times a sloppy, frenetic game. 

The outcome represented vastly different things for each team. 

The Hawks set a franchise record for single-season wins with 58, while the Suns are officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Atlanta has just five games left, but the No. 1 seed is already wrapped up, so expect Budenholzer to rest his starters as much as possible in preparation for a deep Eastern Conference playoff push. 

And if unheralded rotation players like Mike Muscala (16 PTS, 7-8 FG, 7 REB, 4 STL, +28) can turn in epic performances like this on a nightly basis, Budenholzer might not even have to play his starters over this last small stretch of regular season play.

But there's always another side to the coin, and the Suns' side is a bit more tarnished than Atlanta's. 

For Phoenix, it's another year, another heartbreaking end.

A team that currently employs Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, and once employed Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas, had no choice but to put the fate of their season in the hands of Archie Goodwin, Jerel McNeal, Marcus Thornton and Reggie Bullock after Bledsoe was ejected in the third quarter following simultaneous technicals. As one might imagine, that didn't go swimmingly for Phoenix.

The Suns scored just 26 points total in the second half. For comparison, the Hawks scored 28 points in the second quarter and 27 points in the fourth.

Phoenix had every opportunity to make an early run as the Hawks committed an uncharacteristic 11 turnovers in the first half, but the Suns' shooting remained abysmal (26-83 FG, 4-20 3PT) the entire game. 

The Suns will now have to look inward and search for the right compliment of players to somehow push them out of the Western Conference playoff picture and into the actual playoffs. The three-guard experiment simply didn't pan out, and the Suns ultimately payed for it. 

Phoenix certainly has some young, talented players on its roster, but it will have a difficult decision to make with restricted free agent Brandon Knight this summer, as a slew of big names will be available on the open market. 

Once again, it's back to the drawing board in the Land of the Suns, and back to the playoffs in The ATL. 

Halftime Update

This hasn't been the prettiest basketball in the world at Philips Arena tonight. The Suns and Hawks have combined for 19 turnovers and just 5-of-19 shooting from 3-point range.

The second quarter saw the ball go in the hoop just a bit more, as Atlanta outscored Phoenix 28-26. 

DeMarre Carroll has been huge for the Hawks so far, finishing with 12 points on a perfect 6-of-6 from the field. Altogether, 10 Hawks have already scored at least one point, with Teague (11 PTS) joining Carroll in double-figures.

The Suns haven't been able to capitalize on the Hawks' mistakes tonight due to poor shooting (39.5 perfect) and some sloppy play of their own. Gerald Green has been a spark off the bench with nine points in 13 minutes, but the rest of the team has been largely stifled by this smart Atlanta defense.

The game has been chippy, with a little bit of a scuffle between Mike Scott and Markieff Morris drawing Scott a technical towards the end of the half. Budenholzer received a technical shortly after for arguing about a no-call on P.J. Tucker (who was indeed holding Korver). 

Look for Atlanta to try and get Korver going (2 PTS, 0-3 3PT) in order to put this game away early and rest some starters. On the Phoenix side, Hornacek will want to get Bledsoe to penetrate more and dish out to some open shooters, who need to start knocking down their shots. 

We're all set to get back underway for what could be the last meaningful game of the Suns' season.