By Phil Foley – Hawks Editor

Read More: Joe Johnson (F – ATL), Josh Smith (F – ATL), Manu Ginobili (G – SAN), Tim Duncan (F – SAN), Tony Parker (G – SAN), San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks

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Apr 5, 2011 - The Atlanta Hawks will get a second chance to nail down the No. 5 seed. Standing in the way is a struggling San Antonio Spurs team that is fighting to cling onto the top seed in the West.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and the rest of the Spurs come to town for their yearly meeting in Atlanta (7:00 p.m., SportSouth, 97.9 FM).

San Antonio was ravaged by injuries and went into an uncharacteristic tailspin, dropping six straight games over a span of almost two weeks to let the Los Angeles Lakers back into the race for the No. 1 seed in the West. But the Spurs got back Duncan this week and righted the ship against a Phoenix Suns team that is out of the playoff race.

George Hill netted 29 points and Matt Bonner added 16 in a 114-97 rout of the Suns on Sunday. Sprinkle in a loss by the Lakers and the Spurs moved 2 1/2 games ahead for the top seed in the West and hold a 1 1/2 game edge over the Chicago Bulls for the best record in the NBA.

The Spurs are facing a Hawks team that’s coming off of a disappointing 114-109 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

Atlanta faded late failed in its first attempt to secure the fifth seed and set up a first round playoff date with the Orlando Magic. Joe Johnson had 25 points and Josh Smith posted 21 in a game that went down to the wire. But Kirk Hinrich fouled out and Jeff Teague misfired on a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the contest as the Rockets snapped the Hawks’ four-game winning streak.

The Hawks may play this one without Smith, who sat out of practice on Monday in order to rest his sore right knee.

Atlanta is going to need Smith’s defense to help stop a San Antonio team that can play both inside and out. The Spurs are the best 3-point shooting teams in the league, connecting on almost 40-percent of their shots from behind the arc. They were an astounding 15-for-29 in their win over the Suns on Sunday.

The San Antonio Spurs ended a 6-game losing skid, Tim Duncan’s longest ever in his career, with a 114-97 win against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. San Antonio remains on top of the NBA Western Conference with the league-best record this season.

The two-time defending NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers are running second in the West and have been one of the hottest basketball teams since the All-Star break. Three of the last five games left for the Spurs to play in the regular season are with teams already out of the running for a playoff berth. The Spurs meet the Lakers one last time in the regular season on April 12.

Only one starter scored in double-digit output. Richard Jefferson had 12 points and 7 rebounds. San Antonio relied on players off the bench to push the Suns out of playoff contention. George Hill led San Antonio with 29 points. Matt Bonner contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds while Gary Neal had 15 points.

Aaron Brooks and Channing Frye scored 14 points apiece for the Suns. Jared Dudley and Vince Carter scored 12 points each. Dudley also grabbed 10 rebounds. Grant Hills scored 11 points while Marcin Gortat and Robin Lopez added 10 points apiece.

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Phoenix center Marcin Gortat reacts after the Suns were called for a foul against San Antonio Spurs during the first half on Sunday. (Bahram Mark Sobhani/Associated Press)

George Hill scored 29 points as the San Antonio Spurs stopped the longest skid of Tim Duncan’s career, beating up the visiting Phoenix Suns 114-97 on Sunday and ending a six-game losing streak.

It was a cathartic rout for San Antonio after going winless for two weeks and dulling a once-comfortable lead atop the Western Conference. The win kept the Spurs at least 1 ½ games ahead of the surging Los Angeles Lakers.

Aaron Brooks and Channing Frye had 14 points apiece for the Suns, who will miss the playoffs for the second time in three seasons as a result of the loss.

Matt Bonner added 16 points for San Antonio (58-19), which remains the NBA’s winningest team but lost its air of dominance during the longest slide of Duncan’s 14-year career.