> Hawks swingman Josh Childress has a bone bruise on his right knee and didn't play in Wednesday's game against the Bobcats at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

He left Charlotte for Atlanta before noon on Wednesday, having been sent home to have an MRI exam on his knee by the order of the Hawks' medical staff.

Childress hyper-extended his knee late in the third quarter of Tuesday's loss to Detroit and wore a sleeve on the leg on the flight to Charlotte. But after a restless night, Childress informed the Hawks' training staff that his knee felt worse than it did the night before and they booked him a flight and sent him home.

"He'll get it evaluated again Monday [the day the Hawks depart for a five-game road trip]," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said, "and we'll see how it goes from there."

> BENCH CREW SHOWS UP: Even without their leading bench scorer (Childress) Wednesday, the Hawks' reserves made major contributions.

They were the biggest reason the Hawks carried a 51-39 lead into halftime, having outscored their Bobcats counterparts 26-12.

Veteran point guard Tyronn Lue led the Hawks with 10 points before the break, while rookie point guard Acie Law IV added nine points and two assists in his 16-plus minutes. Lorenzen Wright (two points, three rebounds) and Shelden Williams (four points, two rebounds) got in on the fun as well.

> OUT OF GAS? With a chance to deal a blow to the Bobcats early, the Hawks appeared to be a bit fatigued from the night before, when they expended major energy to come back from an early 15-point deficit against the Pistons.

Rather than getting back to the run-and-gun game that put them in contention Tuesday, they struggled on the break against the Bobcats. They managed only six fast-break points by halftime, a total matched by the Bobcats, who played without their leading scorer and fast-break specialist Gerald Wallace (strained right foot).