Hawks roll past Bobcats
HAWKS 111, BOBCATS 81
ATLANTA — Before the Atlanta Hawks took the court, Joe Johnson whispered a message to teammates Josh Smith and Jeff Teague.
“We have to take ownership,” Johnson said, “at both ends of the court.” Clearly, they were listening. Smith scored 30 points, Johnson added 23 and Teague chipped in with 16, leading the Hawks to a 111-81 rout of the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday night in Atlanta’s first game without All-star center Al Horford.
The Hawks learned earlier in the day that Horford, a leader on and off the court, will miss at least three months after tearing the pectoral muscle in his left shoulder going for a rebound the previous night at Indiana. That ensures he will miss nearly all the remaining regular-season games and perhaps be out into the playoffs — if Atlanta makes it that far.
“That was very disappointing news,” Smith said. “I actually heard it on the radio on the way to the game. It’s real devastating.”
But the Hawks must carry on, and they’ll be relying heavily on Smith and Johnson. Both came through big time against the hapless Bobcats, who lost their fifth in a row and dropped to 2-9.
“We all understand that we have to step our games up in some respect,” Johnson said. “It was a great team effort , collectively, around the room.”
Byron Mullens led the Bobcats with 21 points in his first career start .