Johnson rallies Hawks to victory over Bucks

By Michael Cunningham

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

One of Hawks coach Mike Woodson’s keys to winning the Southeast Division is to post a dominant record at Philips Arena.

That formula doesn’t include losing to teams below the Hawks in the standings, especially when the opponent played the night before. Credit Hawks All-Star Joe Johnson for making the Hawks stick to Woodson’s plan.

Johnson scored seven consecutive points in overtime to rally the Hawks to a 106-102 victory over Milwaukee on Sunday. The Hawks avoided losing two in a row at home for just the second time all season and improved to 23-7 on their court.

"When you get a second chance you always want to come through," Johnson said. "I wanted to make plays in that overtime to get us over the hump."

After regulation ended with the teams tied at 92, Milwaukee scored the first five points of overtime. It looked like the Hawks would fold in the extra period like they did to Dallas on Friday.

However, Johnson scored seven straight points over Bucks guard John Salmons and put the Hawks up 101-97. Milwaukee’s Luke Ridnour scored to make it 101-99 and, after Johnson missed, the Hawks survived two missed shot attempts by Milwaukee.

"We had to keep riding him to see if he could keep going," Hawks forward Josh Smith said. of Johnson "He was making tough shots and tough moves on his guys. When he's like that, we need to keep giving it to him."

Salmons made a 3-pointer with 9.7 seconds to play to pull Milwaukee within 103-102. The Hawks converted  three free throws from there to secure the victory.

"Milwaukee's been hot lately but we were able to get a win," Smith said. "It's nice to have a win to get our confidence back. We need to tighten it up defensively and share the ball offensively."

Johnson scored nine of his 24 points in overtime and  Smith added 22 points, 15 rebounds and six assists for the Hawks. Salmons scored a season-high 32 points and reserve Jerry Stackhouse had 20 for the Bucks, who had their six-game winning streak snapped.

The Hawks led 76-73 early in the fourth quarter but familiar problems allowed Milwaukee to take control: stagnant offense and defensive breakdowns. The Hawks shot just 5 of 18 in the fourth quarter and scored just five points over the first six minutes of the period.

The Hawks trailed 89-82 with 4:15 to play. Al Horford had four points during a 6-0 run that got the Hawks within 89-88.

The Bucks led 91-90 when Johnson missed a shot near the basket. After the Bucks made a free throw to make it 92-90, Smith rebounded Jamal Crawford’s jumper and passed out to Johnson, who scored to tie it at 92-92.

Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut missed under pressure from Horford on the next possession. Johnson missed a shot at the buzzer and the game went to overtime.

The Hawks controlled Bogut and rookie Brandon Jennings for the most part. Bogut had 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks and Jennings scored just three points on 1 of 5 shooting.

But Salmons, recently acquired in a trade, made 11 of 20 shots and Stackhouse rallied the Bucks early. Stackhouse came off the bench five minutes into the game, scored a few seconds later and ended up with 10 of Milwaukee’s 24 first-quarter points.

The Hawks opened the game with a 12-2 during which all five starters scored. But Milwaukee made four straight shots during a 13-0 run that got them within 20-16 and it was tied at 24-24 entering the second period.

"We all gutted it out," Crawford said. "It was definitely intense and very physical out there."