Johnson’s 37 Proves Huge, Hawks Claw Bulls 105-84

Joe Johnson scored 37 points to lead the Hawks past the Bulls on Sunday.

Three years and 12 games later, the Atlanta Hawks got the proverbial “monkey off their back”. But they got a big assist from swingman Joe Johnson in doing so; he scored 25 first-half points, leading the Hawks to an impressive victory over the Chicago Bulls Sunday 105-84 at Philips Arena.

The Hawks outhustled the Bulls in every way possible - rebounds (54-40), assists (23-22), steals (8-3) and blocked shots (12-6). Just an overall poor effort by Chicago Sunday. Atlanta shot very well in the first half, enabling them to grab a sizeable 69-49 lead at halftime; Johnson had 19 in the first quarter alone, pushing Atlanta ahead 38-22 in the period. The Hawks built a 22-point lead in the first half and the Bulls could never get back into the game from that point on.

But there was an interesting development prior to the game - the Bulls squad took a vote and decided that maligned rookie forward/center Joakim Noah would not play in tonight’s game; apparently a culmination of events led to this happening, beginning with an altercation between Noah and Bulls assistant coach Ron Adams at practice Friday. Noah didn’t play Friday and the team decided 1 game wasn’t enough for Noah.

Johnson led Atlanta with 37 points - including 5 three-pointers - along with 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Josh Childress added 14 and grabbed 9 boards, while Marvin Williams chipped in with 11 with 2 steals and 4 blocked shots. Chicago was led by Luol Deng, returning from an Achilles injury with 28 points; Andres Nocioni pitched in with 20, while Joe Smith added12 and 8 rebounds. Atlanta (16-17) remains on their current homestand to host the Denver Nuggets Tuesday night, while Chicago (14-21) travels south to Florida to take on the Orlando Magic - also on Tuesday.