Johnson, Hawks recover late to top Kings, 100-98
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Joe Johnson scored a season-high 36 points, including two free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining, and the Atlanta Hawks recovered after trailing most of the game to beat the Sacramento Kigns 100-98 on Monday.
Johnson drove past three defenders for layup with 23 seconds remaining to give Atlanta a 98-96 lead. Carl Landry answered with a tying basket for Sacramento with 11.7 seconds remaining.
Following a timeout, Johnson was fouled by Tyreke Evans on a drive with less than a second remaining. Johnson made both free throws.
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Atlanta took its first lead with 13 consecutive points early in the fourth quarter.
Al Horford added 23 points with 9 rebounds and 7 blocks for Atlanta. Josh Smith had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 20 points. Beno Udrih had 17. Evans and Jason Thompson each had 16.
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Carl Landry's layup with 36 seconds remaining tied the score at 96-all.
The Kings didn't trail until going scoreless for 4½ minutes as Atlanta scored 13 unanswered points as part of a 20-4 run to open the fourth quarter.
The Kings fell to 3-15 on the road.
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Led by Cousins and Thompson inside and Udrih's drives to the basket, the Kings outplayed the Hawks until the final period.
Johnson's jumper with 7 minutes remaining pulled the Hawks even at 86-all for the first tie since late in the first quarter. Horford blocked Tyreke Evans' shot and then scored on a baseline jumper to give the Hawks their first lead at 88-86.
The Kings had four scorers in double figures when they led 62-53 at halftime.
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Sacramento set a season high by scoring 70 points in the first half on Saturday at Detroit, but had only 36 points in the second half of a 110-106 loss. The Kings repeated that formula by again scoring only 36 points in the second half against Atlanta.
Horford set a career high by blocking seven shots.
NOTES: Farris Watkins, the great-niece of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., sang the national anthem. The Hawks also had a halftime ceremony honoring King, who was an Atlanta native, on his annual memorial day. ... Kings F Francisco Garcia (sore left calf) and G-F Donte Greene (sore left calf) did not play. ... There is no timetable on the return of Hawks F Marvin Williams, who missed his eighth straight game with a lower back injury. ... The Kings' last win in Atlanta was on Feb. 20, 2008.