A sore knee that will cost Joe Johnson the last two games before the NBA's All-Star Weekend will also prevent him from playing in the All-Star Game on Sunday:

#Hawks F Joe Johnson to pull out of All-Star game per NBA source with sore knee

— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) February 22, 2012

While there are no indications that the injury is serious, withdrawing from the exhibition game will give Johnson almost a full week to rest and recover, a rare respite amidst the NBA's lockout-compressed 2012 season.

The 6'8 225 guard is averaging 17.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 42.5% shooting this season and he was slated to make his sixth consecutive All-Star appearance.

It's unclear what direction David Stern, who chooses injury replacements for the game, will go in choosing a player to take Johnson's spot.

His absence means Atlanta will not have an All-Star representative and Hawks F Josh Smith was widely seen as one of the biggest snubs when the reserves were selected, but there will be a lot of media and fan pressure to select New York Knicks PG Jeremy Lin.

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