NEWARK, N.J. -- For the Hawks, a rest day means boarding a plane for yet another city and another game.
The Hawks didn’t play Sunday, only their fourth day without a game in 13 days. They had five games from Monday through Saturday last week.
Under those circumstances, fatigue might have been a bigger concern than the struggling Nets on Monday night, but Hawks coach Larry Drew went all out to beat New Jersey 106-101 for their third consecutive victory.
Zaza Pachulia was the only Hawks reserve to play in the second half. Drew decided to rely on his starters after the Hawks got off to slow start in the second half.
"I was going to come out and see what happened and go off feel,” Drew said. “Once New Jersey made that run, I made a decision to ride the starters. I didn’t want to lose momentum. I went with feel. I kind of went with my gut.”
Both of Atlanta's starting guards, Joe Johnson and Jeff Teague, played the entire second half. Johnson lifted the Hawks with 10 points in the fourth quarter and said he didn't mind logging 43 minutes.
“I understand in this short season, every game is important for us,” Johnson said. “I’m willing to do whatever [Drew] wants. We talked, and he understands my mindset. He knows what I’m willing to do what I have to as a player to help this team get better.”
The Hawks got off to a strong start, sagged in the middle, and then survived a shaky finish to push aside New Jersey.
The Hawks led 100-91 with two minutes to play but a spurt of hot Nets shooting and some missed free throws cut the lead to 104-101 in the final minute. Johnson made a pair of free throws with 3.8 seconds to preserve Atlanta’s third victory this season against New Jersey.
“To be perfectly honest, I expected it to be a close ball game,” Drew said. “This New Jersey team is a very scrappy team. [Coach] Avery [Johnson] has done a magnificent job, particularly because they are depleted with injuries. They are still playing hard, still competing.
"They have always played us well. They have guys who can hit shots. They are physical on the glass.”
Hawks forward Josh Smith scored a game-high 26 points, Johnson had 22 and Teague added 20. Georgia Tech product Anthony Morrow paced New Jersey with 20 points and former Tucker High star MarShon Brooks, a Nets rookie, had 19.
The Hawks led by as many as 16 points in the first half and were ahead 56-45 at the break. The Nets tried to rally behind Brooks, who made three 3-pointers in the third quarter.
But Johnson turned back the Nets in the fourth quarter. He made a runner and two fadeaway jumpers during a 12-4 run that staked Atlanta to a 98-85 lead with 4:03 left.
During that burst, Smith had three points, Al Horford scored on a dunk and Vladimir Radmanovic capped it off with his fourth 3-pointer. New Jersey made one last push with a 7-0 run that cut its deficit to 100-95 with 58.7 seconds left.
After Smith missed a pair of free throws, Radmanovich made a pair. Deron Williams sank a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 102-98, Johnson answered with a pair of free throws and Morrow sank another 3-pointer.
Johnson made the free throws to finally finish the Nets.
"I thought our guys did a good job and maintained composure," Drew said. "We knew New Jersey would make a run, but Joe Johnson came up with some big baskets at the end."
The Hawks now travel to play the Pacers on Wednesday night before hosting Charlotte on Thursday night. This is the new normal for the NBA, which crammed 66 games into a truncated calendar.
The Hawks got the worst of it early in the the season, with nine games in 12 days to start and, after a travel day, three more games over the next four days. The schedule keeps churning and the games keep coming for the Hawks.
“We should be all right if everybody takes care of their body,” Smith said. “The bench guys are definitely going to come and help.”
Atlanta seems to have energy in reserve in spite of the busy schedule. After jumping on Chicago for a big lead Saturday, the Hawks did the same thing to the Nets.
The Hawks ran out to leads of 19-8 and 27-11 and were up 31-18 after a period. Smith made his first four shots while scoring 10 points in the quarter and Horford and Johnson added six points each.
