Joe Johnson put on on a headband, and suddenly he was shooting and scoring like he hadn't in six weeks.
It's most likely a coincidence, but his Hawks teammates weren't taking any chances.
"He wanted to take it off at halftime," Hawks center Al Horford said, "but we were like, ‘No!'"
Johnson kept on the headband and continued to pour it on the Bucks. He scored 36 points to lead the Hawks to a 110-85 victory Tuesday night at Philips Arena.
Johnson broke out of his recent funk by jolting the Hawks with 28 points in the first half. They went on to score their most points since they beat New York 111-102 on Jan. 28.
Johnson, who made 13 of 19 shots, might want to stick with the new look just in case.
"I guess it worked for me," Johnson said. "I don't know. I'm not a headband kind of guy. For right now I have to wear it."
Johnson wore the headband to protect an infected wound over his right ear. A spot of blood bled through a bandage wrapped around his head during the Hawks' shootaround earlier Tuesday.
Johnson said he didn't suffer the injury on the court, but wouldn't elaborate.
“Just a little mishap. Nothing major,” Johnson said. “I will be all right.”
Whatever happened, the injury (and the headband) didn't cause Johnson any trouble with his shot. He made his first two field goals, missed his next two shots, and then made five consecutive 3-pointers as the Hawks raced to a 48-25 lead in the second quarter.
Johnson had his most points and field goals made since he had 37 and 15, respectively, in a 100-87 victory over Toronto on Feb. 2. Big games had been scarce since then for Johnson, whose production and efficiency have plummeted since a hot January.
Johnson was 3-for-27 on 3-pointers in his past seven games, but made six of nine attempts against the Bucks, all in the first half.
"That was the Joe of old," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "You could tell early in the game, after he made his third shot, he was in a nice little rhythm. Just the way he was catching it, seaming it up and just letting it go. There was no hesitation. He seemed to have some bounce in his step."
The Hawks were off Sunday, and Johnson sat out practice Monday. He said the rest helped.
"I had my legs under me, and I was just making quick moves in the post," he said. "It's like for any scorer, you get a couple easy baskets, and the basket opens up for you. I don't know, it just seemed in the first half it was tough for me to miss."
It looked as if Johnson would threaten his career high of 42 points when two free throws gave him 36 with 3:17 left in the third quarter. But he left the game for good a couple of minutes later with the Hawks up 79-53.
The Hawks led 55-39 at halftime. The Bucks scored the first four points of the third quarter, but the Hawks outscored them 29-12 over the final 10:07 of the period to lead 84-55.
The Bucks, one of the NBA's best defensive teams, had won two of the three previous meetings against the Hawks while holding them to an average of 92 points.
"This was much-needed against a Bucks team who really has been giving us problems as of late," Johnson said. "To come out and put them away early and for us to be able to rest in the fourth quarter, I can't even remember the last time we did that. That was big."
