Hawks pop Wizards for second straight win

By Sekou Smith

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

You'll have to forgive Joe Johnson for not being able to remember the last time he sat the way he did Friday night and watched one of his teammates tote the load.

It has been a while for the Hawks' captain, who sat for nearly 13 minutes in the second quarter of the Hawks' 100-89 win over Washington on Friday night at Philips Arena while sixth man Jamal Crawford stole the show.

Crawford gave way in the second half to Josh Smith, who teamed up with Al Horford to control the rebounding on offense and defense while Marvin Williams warmed up before helping close the door on the Wizards in the fourth quarter.

It's going to be this way for the Hawks this season, different guys carrying the load on different nights. And sometimes it's going to be different guys at different times on the same night, as happened against the Wizards.

"We've got enough guys to score the basketball, make plays, defend and rebound," Johnson said. "I don’t think that's ever going to be a factor. As long as everybody just stays focused and confident and keeps the negative out, we're going to be fine."

If their efficient effort against the Wizards is any indication -- four of the five starters finished with double-figures along with Crawford's 16 off the bench -- the Hawks (2-0) will be more than fine.

Friday night's balanced scoring effort was an added bonus to a sterling defensive effort against a Wizards team that won in Dallas on Tuesday night and has been predicted by some to overtake the Hawks in the Southeast Division. The Hawks outrebounded the much larger Wizards 47-40, scored 18 points off of turnovers and piled up seven blocked shots -- five from Horford and two from Smith, who became the youngest player in league history to reach 900 blocks and 23 and 329 days. Horford finished with a game-high 12 rebounds while Smith led the Hawks in scoring with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor.

"I think we have enough players that we can spread it around," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "There will be nights when Jamal is probably going to lead us in scoring. There's going to be nights when Al is going to lead us in scoring, and the same goes for Marvin and [Josh]. We have enough offensive weapons if they just buy into sharing the basketball, and the minutes they get, they make the most of them.

"But you win in this league on the defensive end, in terms of defending and rebounding. And tonight, we made a serious effort to defend and rebound the ball."

Nowhere was the Hawks' newfound trust in the sum of their parts more evident than in the performances of Crawford early and Williams late. Crawford piled up 15 of points in the first half. He shook off the sting of a 12-minute appearance in the season-opening win over Indiana to outshine both Johnson and Wizards' scoring machine Gilbert Arenas.

Crawford received a pep talk from Woodson after the opener reminding him why they traded for him on draft night.

"It was good to hear from him," Crawford said. "All my friends and family were saying it. But it was good to hear it from him."

Williams checked out of the early part of the game. He had just one point and four rebounds through three quarters and wasn't a factor. But he woke up in the fourth, matching Smith's nine points and grabbing five more rebounds and recording a steal to help finish off the Wizards in style.

"I think the biggest thing is we're just confident in each other," Williams said. "These guys saw that I was struggling early, and they stuck with me. Joe didn’t hesitate the right pass late, and I was able to knock down a shot and then I got a tip-in. I think our team just trusts each other. And that's going to take us a long way."