Joe The Shooting Guard Leads Hawks Past Magic 99-85

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA Game Recap, NBA Regular Season Opener

The Atlanta Hawks ended their campaign last season in the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs. They took the eventual NBA Champions Boston Celtics to seven games giving the “Green Team” all they could handle before finally losing in game seven. Wednesday night the Hawks opened their regular season against the Orlando Magic and gave Orlando more than they could handle winning the game 99-85. Joe “The Shooting Guard” Johnson ( I promise I will never do it again) led the Hawks with 25 points in the win in Orlando.

This game was just an old fashioned butt kicking as Atlanta led from the jump, and never was in danger of losing. The Magic took the court in the first quarter but they left their offense in the locker room, as the Hawks quickly broke out to a 23-8 lead. The score at the end of the first quarter had Atlanta leading 26-13, and the Magic never recovered. Orlando was able to climb back into the contest during the second quarter, as they trailed 47-40 at the half. They would never get any closer during the rest of the night. Atlanta put it into another gear during the third quarter, as they took a 74-55 advantage into the final 12 minutes of of play. The fourth quarter was just extended garbage time.

Johnson shot 11-20 from the floor, 2-5 from outside the arc as he had 25 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, in the Atlanta victory. Josh Smith recorded a double-double, as he scored 17 points, 10 boards, 5 blocks, 4 steals, and 1 assist. Flip Murray scored 14 points off the bench, he also had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, Mike Bibby scored 12 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals. Al Horford scored 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Orlando was led by All-Star center Dwight Howard who recorded a double-double, scoring 22 points, grabbing 15 boards, 5 blocks, 5 steals, 1 assist. Mickael Pietrus scored 20 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, Hedo Turkoglu scored 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist. Rashard Lewis scored 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 block. Both teams are now off until Saturday, when the Hawks will host Philadelphia, while Orlando welcomes the Sacramento Kings.

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