Basketball - Former Sun Johnson Downs Phoenix

It was another disappointing performance from Phoenix Suns after Steve Nash was forced to sit down for the second consecutive match due to an injury in his right shoulder. Atlanta Hawks, inspired by a masterly display by Johnson, defeated Phoenix 120-111.

Joe Johnson was the leading scorer for the Hawks with 32 points. Out of these, he scored 17 points within the last quarter. Josh Smith ably assisted him with 25 points. At the end of match, Johnson clarified that the Suns were indeed a great team and there was no question of any sort of personal settlement.

He further added that they had made the best of the opportunity with Nash not playing for them. Johnson earlier used to play for Phoenix and has been instrumental in their reaching the finals of Western Conference two seasons ago. In 2005, he joined the Hawks.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson was delighted with his team’s performance. In his opinion, there was nothing personal in the game for Joe. He said that Johnson had been playing well throughout the season.

Phoenix Suns’ coach Mike D’Antoni was extremely disappointed about his team’s performance. He made it clear that he wanted Nash back on the court. Apart from this, he wanted the other members of the team to step up the steam and make effort to win games. Amare Stoudemire was the leading scorer for the Suns with 29 points and 13 rebounds. He was followed by Raja Bell who scored 23 points.

D’Antoni feels that the Suns were scoring but were unable to stop the opponents from scoring and said that it was one area that the Suns needed to improve.