Joe Johnson attacked Dwight Howard and drew a foul. Howard picked up another on offense. He quickly took a seat on the bench and the Atlanta Hawks took advantage.
Johnson has eight points and Kirk Hinrich added five to help the Hawks to a 25-17 lead over the Orlando Magic through one quarter in Game 4 of their best-of-seven set on Sunday night at Philips Arena.
Howard did not score before taking a seat on the bench with 5:44 left in the frame. He did not return until the start of the second quarter.
The Magic predictably struggled without their big man in the middle. They buried just 5-of-20 field goals (25-percent) in the frame while the Hawks continued to connect on a good clip.
Atlanta shot 58-percent (11-for-19) in the frame and attacked the basket in Howard's absence. They also shared the basketball, dishing seven assists.
Al Horford and Jamal Crawford had four each off the bench for Atlanta, which outrebounded Orlando by a 13-8 margin.
Brandon Bass netted seven points and Quentin Richardson had three for Orlando, which converted 6-of-7 from the free throw line in the frame.
About the only thing Atlanta needs to do better in this one is take better care of the basketball. They had six turnovers in the first 12 mintues.