Hawks hand Bobcats seventh straight loss

ATLANTA(AP) The Atlanta Hawks were fortunate that they were at home and the opponent was the struggling Charlotte Bobcats.Joe
Johnson scored 18 of his 28 points in the second half to lead the Hawks
to an 83-79 victory over Charlotte on Monday night, extending the
Bobcats' losing streak to seven.Al Horford added 12 points and
14 rebounds for Atlanta (15-9), which won its third straight and
improved to 9-1 at home with six straight games at Philips Arena coming
up."If we continue to take care of our home court, we can put
ourselves in good position to get ahead of some of the teams in our
division,'' Johnson said. "It's a big advantage (playing at home),
especially when the crowd is up to it.''The Hawks never led
until Horford's basket in the opening minute of the fourth quarter for
a 70-68 lead. Atlanta outscored Charlotte 15-9 in the period, with the
Bobcats shooting only 4-of-20."I think we took them a little for granted, coming off a big game like Cleveland,'' Johnson said of the Hawks' victory Saturday.Boris Diaw led Charlotte (7-18) with a season-high 25 points. Raymond Felton added 15.Atlanta
snapped Cleveland's 11-game winning streak with a 97-92 victory on
Saturday night. Next up is Boston on Wednesday night. The Celtics have
won 15 straight and are 23-2 after beating Utah on Monday night."It's going to be fun,'' Johnson said."We weren't looking to the Celtics. They just happen to be the next team on our schedule,'' said Atlanta coach Mike Woodson.Charlotte
led 48-42 at the half behind 13 points from Diaw. The Bobcats led by
nine points on several occasions, the last at 45-36 with 2:29 left
before intermission. The Hawks, who never led in the opening 24
minutes, were 1-of-13 from 3-point range and finished 3-of-20 (15
percent).Atlanta tied it at 68 on a basket by Horford with two
seconds left in the third period. Johnson had 12 points in the period
for the Hawks."We played well enough to win,'' Charlotte coach Larry Brown said."We
had a bad ending in the third period and then we couldn't make a shot
the last 15 minutes of the game. "We've lost a lot of games like this,
in the fourth quarter. We've played well enough defensively to win the
game. We just can't find ways to get the ball in the basket.''The
Bobcats led 65-57 on a basket by Felton with 3:17 left in the third
period, but only scored one basket in an eight-minute span - a
3-pointer by D.J. Augustin - until Diaw scored with 7:16 left in the
game and trailed 70-64.Johnson led the Hawks' 15-3 run that gave Atlanta a 74-68 lead with 7:45 left, scoring seven points.Diaw and Raja Bell were acquired from Phoenix for Bobcats top scorer Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley last week.Notes:
Bobcats leading scorer Gerald Wallace, who missed three games last week
following the death of his grandmother, played Saturday and scored 22
points. He was in the starting lineup against Atlanta. His father died
last Thursday. Services are scheduled for this Thursday.