Bringing Johnson off the bench helped Hawks to needed victory

For all the strategy of the Hawks’ bigger lineup – starting Johan Petro at center – Johnson helped neutralize the Pacers advantage. The Hawks broke open a must-win game en route to a convincing 90-69 victory Saturday that propelled them back into the series.

Johnson played the remainder of the first half in place of Petro, giving up six inches to Hibbert. The center was limited to 12 minutes, had three fouls, four rebounds and zero points by intermission. Johnson had five points, seven rebounds, one block and one steal in this 18 minutes.

“Strength,” Johnson said to the key to his success. “You’ve got to have strength to keep him out of the paint. He’s a heavy load. He’s 7-2. That’s a lot of weight.

“I did some extra push-ups.”

For the game, Johnson finished with seven points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block in his 27 minutes. Hibbert managed eight points and nine rebounds in another disappointing performance in Atlanta. In three games at Philips Arena this season, two regular season and one playoff, Hibbert has a total of 17 points and 17 rebounds. That includes a no-point, one-rebound game in December.

Put on a body on Hibbert and you can knock him off his game.

Or as Johnson puts it, “You got to hit him first and hit him last.”

The Hawks used a big lineup with success against the Pacers in the regular season. They used a smaller lineup in the first two games of the series without the services of Zaza Pachulia. A lineup with the seven-foot Petro helped in Game 3 but Johnson was a key contributor.

When Johnson entered the game was tied 9-9. The Hawks would outscore the Pacers 45-21 the rest of the half to take a commanding lead by intermission. The 30 first-half points allowed by the Hawks were the fewest allowed in Hawks playoff history.

“He gives up a lot size-wise but for the most part Ivan has a very strong base and he’s defended him quite well,” Drew said.

The Hawks held a 50-30 advantage in points in the paint. They made 25 baskets inside compared to just 15 for the Pacers. Johnson also spent time defending David West and clearly got under the skin of the power forward. Petro and Johnson each finished with five fouls as they matched the physicality of the Pacers.

“The thing that frustrates the opposition more than anything is this kid plays hard,” Drew said. “He doesn’t take possessions off. He will stand up to any challenge to who he has to defend. A lot of guys don’t like playing against guys like that.

“For a big guy his size with his ability and his mobility he frustrates a lot of people.”

Drew said following Sunday’s practice in preparation for Game 4 Monday that he has no plans to move Johnson into the starting lineup. Petro went to Miami as his wife was induced to deliver the couple’s child. He is not expected to miss Game 4.

“Ivan did do a good job but I really like the energy that he brings off the bench,” Drew said. “I don’t want to disrupt that.”