It looks like the Atlanta Hawks have brought their shooting shoes with them to Newark. Joe Johnson has nine points and Mike Bibby has eight to lead the Hawks to a 30-23 lead over the New Jersey Nets through one quarter. Atlanta made 14-of-22 shots in the frame (64-percent), while Jersey connected on 10-of-18 (56-percent).
Atlanta has assists on 10 of their first 14 buckets.
Devin Harris leads all players with 11. No other Nets player has more than four points.
Josh Smith played just 48 seconds in this one before picking up a pair of quick fouls and watching this one as a spectator from the bench. Jamal Crawford missed his third straight game with a sore neck back (I'm the one with the sore neck).
Nets coach Avery Johnson woke up the Nets at 8:45 A.M. for a meeting. He was trying to make sure that his team was ready and motivated coming into this one against the Hawks. Nevertheless, it was Atlanta that came out with the burst of energy. So far it hasn't worked.