Johnson pours in 34 as Hawks surprise Rose, Bulls in opener

CHICAGO — Joe Johnson contemplated joining thenhl jerseys Chicago Bulls last summer before the Atlanta Hawks re-signed him to a $123 million contract.
Jamal Crawford started his career with the Bulls, playing his first four seasons in Chicago.

Monday, they sent the United Center sellout crowd home wondering what if, combining for 56 points as the Hawks stunned the top-seeded Bulls 103-95 in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals.

To make matters worse for the fans, presumptive MVP Derrick Rose turned his left ankle in the final seconds. He stayed bent over on the court for several minutes before being helped off.

Game 2 is Wednesday in NHL JerseysChicago.

Johnson exploded for 34 points, including 5-for-5 from three-point range, as the No. 5 seeded Hawks withstood a third-quarter Chicago run to take home-court advantage in the series.

It was quite a turnaround from the last time the teams played, when the Bulls at one time were ahead by 47 points and ended with a 114-81 win March 22 at Atlanta.

"I think our swagger is a little different (in the postseason). We're coming out with a lot of confidence, having fun," Johnson said.

Crawford, Atlanta's hot-shooting sixth man, got 22 points, including three clutch goals in the fourth quarter.

Rose was held to five points on 2-of-10 shooting in the first half but got untracked inChicago Blackhawks Jersey the second, as has been his custom in the playoffs. He finished with 24 points after shooting 9-of-17 in the second half.

The Bulls started slowly, as they had in four of their five games in their first round series victory against the Indiana Pacers. This time, the Hawks jumped to a 9-0 lead and led by as many as 11 early in the second quarter.

Bulls' power forward Carlos Boozer, who hasn't practiced since the end of the Indiana series because of turf toe, was in the starting lineup after testing the injury in pre-game warm-ups. He struggled on offense in the first half, scoring four points on 2-of-4 shooting, but finished with 14 points.

The Hawks went with Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseytheir smaller front line against the Bulls, starting Al Horford at center and Marvin Williams at small forward. In the opening round series victory against the Orlando Magic, the Hawks opened with Jason Collins at center to play Dwight Howard, Horford at power forward and Josh Smith at small forward.

"We've gone big against (Chicago), we've gone small against this team. Right now I'm just more comfortable going small," Hawks coach Larry Drew said.

Atlanta point guard Kirk Hinrich, a Bull for seven seasons before being traded last offseason, was inactive with a strained right hamstring and might not play herve leger
the entire series.

But his backup didn't miss a beat.

Jeff Teague, who had only seven starts during the season and averaged only 14 minutes and 5.2 points, played 45 minutes and scored 10 points.

"His speed and his quickness gives us a chance to defend (Derrick) Rose," Drew had predicted.