The Phoenix Suns (16-19) begin their first of a three-game homestand against the Atlanta Hawks (19-18) on Thursday.

PHOENIX (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 25 points, Kevin Durant added 23 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Atlanta Hawks 123-115 on Thursday night.

This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

After Trae Young's heroics lifted them to a road win vs Utah on Tuesday, the Atlanta Hawks hoped to finish their six-game road trip with a win vs Phoenix. Atlan

It was as if the basketball gods were testing the Phoenix Suns, wanting them to prove they are worthy of winning a regular season basketball game.

As he left the arena Thursday night, Beal didn’t sound like someone ready to give in. His role has changed. He has not.

The Hawks are currently 9-10 on the road with a point differential of -3.5, while the Suns have a 5-5 record in their last ten games at home.

The Phoenix Suns have covered the point spread in only 14 of 37 games, which is an NBA-worst .378 cover percentage.

Lastly, fan voting returns from Thursday suggest that LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets has a strong chance to be voted as a starter. He leads all East backcourt players in fan voting. Given Ball's time missed to injury (11 games so far) and Charlotte's lowly 8-27 record, his safest path to the All-Star Game is as a starter.

ASU’s 73-67 nonconference win over Penn launched a three-game win streak, which included two wins in the Big 12. The Sun Devils dominated Texas Tech with a 79-61 win on Jan. 1 and played well at Houston in a 69-60 win on Jan. 4.