Atlanta Hawks All Star shooting guard Joe Johnson meets his former team Friday night on ESPN when the Phoenix Suns come calling. There was a time change here as this game was originally set to start at 7:35 ET and not be televised nationally, but now it is (at 8:05 ET) and you can bet on every play with BodogLive.

For those looking to just bet on the game, BetUS Sportsbook has the Hawks favored by 5.5 points. After suffering through a rough stretch that saw them drop five of six games, Atlanta has posted back to back victories this week, the first coming at Boston and then on Wednesday over last place Washington. They are in the midst of a season long five-game stretch at home, where they are 15-4 SU on the year (2nd best mark in Eastern Conference) and 14-5 ATS.

Phoenix, meanwhile, like pretty much every other Western Conference team is great at home (15-4) and not so great on the road (9-11). Lately, however, the Suns have had major issues closing out games, regardless of the venue. They have been outscored 129-97 after halftime in the last two games, a win over Milwaukee and a loss to Indiana. Against the Bucks, they jumped out to a 36-15 advantage after one quarter only to let it slip away and settle for a non-cover in a 105-101 home win. Wednesday night in Indiana was even more frustrating as they blew a 24-point first half lead and lost 122-114.

The good news, at least if you're a Phoenix bettor, is that the team is 13-3 ATS the last two seasons after allowing 120 or more points in its previous game. The bad news is that this trend of blowing leads dates all the way back to January 5th at Sacramento where they squandered a lead of 20 points only to win 113-109. One night later they led by 16, this time against the Houston Rockets, and held on for a 118-110 victory. Last week, they held a 20-point advantage against the Miami Heat only to see it slip away in a 109-105 defeat. So for those keeping score at home, that's five straight games where the Suns held a lead of at least 16 points and they've gone just 2-3 ATS.

These are two of the better offensive clubs in the league with the Hawks averaging 108.2 PPG here at home and Phoenix averaging a league best 109.9 PPG overall. In the Suns previous three road games, they are scoring at an astronomical 118 PPG clip. The Over/Under line has opened at 218.

This Suns have beaten up on the Hawks pretty good in recent years, taking three straight and nine of the last 11.

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