[外電] Johnson's got the magic touch
Johnson's got the magic touch
Jumper with 0.07 seconds left gives Hawks 3-game win streak
By GUY CURTRIGHT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/04/06
When someone mentioned a possible playoff push, Joe Johnson just shook
his head in wonder at such a question. But there is no question that
things are finally looking up.
The Hawks have a three-game winning streak for the first time in two
years and their 14 victories are one more than all of last season.
"This is not the end of it," Johnson said. "We want to keep
going and make this game of basketball fun."
It definitely was Friday night, Johnson hitting a jumper with
less than a second remaining to give the Hawks a 96-94 victory
over the Orlando Magic at Philips Arena.
In a victory at Charlotte on Wednesday night, Johnson had the
first triple-double of his career. He followed that with a
double-double and a game-winning shot.
As he left the court, many in the crowd of 13,259 chanted
"Joe! Joe! Joe!"
"That felt great," Johnson said of the fans' reaction.
The shot felt pretty good, too. Taking over with 11.9 seconds
left, the Hawks let Johnson operate from the top of the key
on a clear out.
Guarded by DeShawn Stevenson, Johnson faked right and went
left as the clock ticked down.
"I pumped faked a couple of times," Johnson said. "I didn't
know if he was going to jump or not. I was going to try to
get a foul. But he didn't [jump] and I just shot it."
"I got a hand up," Stevenson said. It wasn't enough.
Johnson's 18-foot jumper got nothing but net. The 6-foot-7
guard knew that it was in.
"He hit a heck of a shot," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said.
"Every time I shoot, I kinda feel like it's going in," said
Johnson, who had 23 points and 11 assists.
But the Hawks (14-31) had repeatedly failed at crunch time
this season. They didn't this time, climaxing a game in which
they had just five turnovers. More then any other, that's the
number that stood out.
Johnson had no turnovers. Tyronn Lue, who played most of the
game at point guard, had just one.
"I don't think I've ever been on a team that had only five
turnovers," Lue, one of the Hawks' few veterans, said.
Orlando (18-26) lost despite 30 points from Steve Francis,
and 24 points and 16 rebounds by Dwight Howard, the second-year
player from Southwest Atlanta Christian. Howard leads the NBA
in rebounding and this was the 16th time he has had at least
15 rebounds in a game.
"He's a phenomenal young kid," Woodson said of the 20-year-old.
"He keeps getting stronger and better. His upside is unlimited."
But Al Harrington had 12 rebounds and Josh Smith 10 to counter
Howard.
"It feels great to finally win three in a row," Smith said.
"No one thought it would take this long."
Now the Hawks have a four-game winning streak in mind. They
play the Wizards in Washington Saturday night. Their previous
trip there, they were blown out 103-72.
"We have to redeem ourselves," Smith said. "We want to show
how much better we are now."
"The guys are starting to know each other a little bit more,"
Woodson said. "We just have to keep playing the same way,
sharing the ball and keeping everyone involved.
資料來源
http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0204hawks.html
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