Johnson rallies Hawks to home-opening win

That Philips Arena magic the Hawks cooked up during last spring’s playoff run with Boston is still alive.

A 23-point deficit in the first half of Saturday’s home opener with Philadelphia looked like it could be an insurmountable lead until the Hawks shifted into high gear late and rallied for stunning 95-88 victory before a raucous sellout crowd of 19,651.

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RICH ADDICKS / AJC

Hawks forward Josh Smith jumps on teammate Joe Johnson to celebrate their come-from-behind win.

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Hawks All-Star and captain Joe Johnson, the fourth-quarter hero during those three come-from-behind playoff wins over Boston, was at it again Saturday night.

He shredded the 76ers for a game-high 35 points on 14-for-23 shooting, none bigger than the 32-foot, shot-clock beating dagger he nailed from near half court with 11.2 seconds to play for a game-sealing 93-88 lead.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” a smiling Johnson said of the Hawks’ sudden penchant for dramatics on their home floor. “I’m losing years off my age. But at the same time, when you keep pulling wins out it is fun. Hopefully we can start to open up a little better.”

The Hawks, 2-0 for the first time since the 1998-99 lockout season, couldn’t have started much worse. The Sixers, led by former Georgia Tech star Thaddeus Young’s 17 first-quarter points, manhandled them in the first half, opening up an 18-point lead late in the first quarter that would stretch as far as 23 before halftime.

Josh Smith and Marvin Williams, the Hawks’ starting forwards, combined to miss their 13 shots. If not for Johnson (16 points) and Mike Bibby (12), the Hawks’ hole would have been much deeper than 13 points (57-44) at halftime.

“It was so ugly early on, they had to carry us,” said Smith, who rebounded from an 0-for-7 start to finish 6-for-16 from the floor and with 14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. “I wanted to help them out in any way I could. I had to pick my game up in the second half, and it started with defense. From there we started hitting shots and the crowd gave us a huge lift.”

The Hawks’ defense after the break was stellar, they held the Sixers to just 31 points overall and 13 in the fourth quarter. Hawks coach Mike Woodson, already riding high after his daughter’s Woodward Academy volleyball team won the state title, couldn’t have been happier with the defensive effort or the crowd, both of which he credited for his team’s resurgence after halftime.

“Playoff atmosphere,” he said. “The fans were fantastic again tonight. And our guys reacted off of it. We got down early. I thought we were playing too fast early, and they made shots. You have to give them credit. But the third and fourth quarters were our quarters. We really turned up the defense. You hold that team to 31 points in the second half, that’s huge.”

The Hawks’ shooting in the second half wasn’t shabby. Smith shot 5-for-7 from the floor in the fourth quarter, including two huge 3-pointers.

Johnson was his usual clutch self. He tied the game at 84-84 with a runner with 4:22 to play. He gave the Hawks their first lead, 88-86, with a dunk off a length of the floor pass from Smith with 1:53 to play. And he finished the Sixers off with that deep 3-pointer.

Woodson said he might have wanted a better shot before Johnson launched it, but there’s no need to complain now.

“I’ll take it,” he said. “I’m not going to sit here … it wasn’t how we drew it up. But Joe had a big monster game. He’s our All-Star. He played like it, and he made play after play.”