Atlanta guard Joe Johnson leads the Hawks to a 98-84 victory, sending the Cavaliers to their 12th loss in 13 games.
ATLANTA — Strictly by the tape measure, Cavs guard Daniel Gibson surrenders 5 inches to Atlanta's Joe Johnson. That meant the 6-7 Hawks shooting guard stood about a head taller than his 6-2 defender Wednesday night at Philips Arena. That's enough distance to see open teammates, and enough space to send up jumpers without much to contest his attempts.
When it comes to accolades, Gibson trails Johnson by four All-Star selections. In career shooting percentage, Johnson holds a 44.2 to 42.1 advantage.
And in back-breaking 3's, Johnson has the edge, too. At least he did Wednesday when he knocked in back-to-back 3's in the fourth quarter to seal Atlanta's 98-84 victory over the Cavaliers. The loss is Cleveland's 12th in 13 games, its second in a row and drops the team to 8-21.
Johnson led the Hawks with 23 points, 14 of which came in the second half when Atlanta broke open what had been a close game and held on tight for the win.
When Cavaliers coach Byron Scott made changes to the starting lineup to include three guards -- 6-1 Mo Williams, Gibson and 6-6 Anthony Parker -- he knew there would be nights like this. That is to say, nights when the Cavaliers are dwarfed by their opponents, particularly in the backcourt.
Against the Hawks, the height disadvantage called for a game plan that Scott referred to as "junk it up." That meant some zone, some double-teaming, lots of scrambling and, in general, just trying to outwork the Hawks.
It worked, for the most part, until the third quarter when the Hawks hit nine consecutive shots to start the quarter and increased their lead from three to 69-56.
Still, the Cavaliers kept pace with the Hawks, and by the fourth quarter had battled to within seven points, trailing, 83-76, after a Ramon Sessions layup with 7:14 left.
That was when Johnson found his way open amid the Cavaliers "junk," when the Hawks' screens set him free and the Cavaliers' defensive rotations were a step slow. Johnson hit back-to-back 3's to open the Atlanta lead to 91-78 and stomp any Cleveland hopes for a comeback.
"That's what great players do," Scott said. "Joe's not an All-Star and one of the better players in this league for nothing. When they needed some shots, some big shots, he seemed to make the timely ones. That's what great players do."
Gibson wasn't even defending Johnson on those 3's, but praised the way Johnson found open space amid the Cavaliers' defense.
"Joe's a great player," Gibson said. "I could be 6-9 and you're not going to stop him from scoring."
The Cavaliers' best effort in slowing Johnson still allowed him to hit 9 of 17 attempts, while the Hawks shot 50.6 percent overall. For the Cavaliers, forward Antawn Jamison countered with 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting, with seven rebounds. Mo Williams had 18 points and 11 assists for his fourth consecutive double-double, and center Anderson Varejao had 13 rebounds while battling through hip pain that required him to wear a heating pad strapped to his body whenever he sat on the bench.
Even in the loss, Scott praised the Cavaliers' hustle, rattling off the names of big-time players like Johnson who have performed well against Cleveland in recent losses: Miami's Dwyane Wade, Indiana's Danny Granger and Utah's Deron Williams.
"Those guys are difference-makers," Scott said. "The last four-five games we've been beat by big-time players. Joe was the one tonight who came through big for them when they needed it. Again, that's what All-Star players do. We're frustrated, obviously, with the losing. But we continue to battle and that's all we're going to ask for."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jvalade@plaind.com, 216-999-4654