Joe Johnson leads Atlanta Hawks to a 103-87 win over Charlotte Bobcats
Joe Johnson exploded with a game-high 32 points as the Atlanta Hawks dug deep in the second half to pull away with a 103-87 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson said after the game, "We were just more aggressive in the second half. We came out and made the plays we had to. We played with a lot more energy than last night and started to play Hawks basketball
again."
Josh Smith had a nice night with 16 points, 2 assists, and 7 rebounds in the victory. Mike Bibby added 14 points and eight rebounds while Jamal Crawford ended with 14 points for Atlanta, who have won the 29th game of
the season 2010-11. Bibby scored in double figures for the 23rd time this season.
D.J. Augustin led the Bobcats with a team-high 20 points in the defeat. Augustin has recorded consecutive games of at least 20 points for the third time in his career and the second time in the last 14 games. During the 14-game
streak, he has scored in double figures 13 times, including six games with 20 or more points.
Boris Diaw contributed 12 points, 4 assists, and 7 rebounds. Stephen Jackson finished with 10 points but he missed several easy shots. Jackson also failed to make a field goal throughout the night. Nazr Mohammed also posted 10
points in the eleventh home defeat of Charlotte.
More than just their scoring, the aggressiveness and effort of the frontcourt has improved for the Hawks in the past few games. Johnson and Smith stayed hot, hitting a mix of bank shots, hooks, and turnaround jumpers. More than
that, the hustle and intensity which the duo showed cannot be measured by their numbers.
The Bobcats played the opening quarter with more purpose and took a 29-24 advantage into the second. After an even second quarter, the Hawks stormed back into the game with a 9-0 run to erase an eight-point Bobcats advantage. Atlanta
continued their surge and led by 76-67 after three quarters.
The Bobcats raised their defensive intensity early in the fourth. However the Hawks refused to back off. Jamal Crawford’s nailed a 3-pointer in the dying seconds to finish the game.
Johnson said, “I feel like we all pretty much were embarrassed (Friday) night, just from start to finish, period,' “Knowing that, we have not been very successful here in Charlotte. We had to come with our A-game tonight because
we did not want to get embarrassed again. We did that.”
The Sizzling Joe Johnson
Johnson has scored 30-plus points for the fourth time this season. He scored 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting and also added five assists and five rebounds. He also made three of his four attempts from behind the arc and added a
steal on the defensive end. He is averaging 25.5 points over his last five games.
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