ATLANTA — As the Nets’ season reached its official halfway point Saturday, Joe Johnson continued to show some encouraging signs of finally breaking out of his long malaise.
The veteran small forward was one of the closest things to a bright spot in the 114-86 humbling loss to the Hawks. He scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor. He was 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point arc, and — as hard as it is to believe — his minus-one rating was tied for the best on the team.
Shane Larkin had a mind-bending minus-24, so that’s what kind of night it was.
“I’m just playing. I don’t think it’s any different from when it was earlier in the season,” Johnson said. “I’m just playing. Obviously I’m making shots, probably a bit more poised now that I’m not trying to force a shot. I’m just taking what the defense gives me.
“If we penetrate and create and make plays for one another, then the ball finds you.’’
Through the first 32 games, Johnson averaged 10.5 points and hit just .302 from deep. But in his last nine, he is averaging 14.7 and hitting .526 from behind the arc.
“He’s still a tough one-on-one cover,’’ Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. “His physical [nature] that he brings to the game, how strong he is, I don’t think people appreciate he has a certain way about him where you may not think he’s this incredibly strong guy, but when you either watch it up close as we do — it seems like we play these guys a lot — or you talk to players he’s a physical specimen and he’s got the skill to go with that: The step-backs, the ballhandling.
“He’s just playing better and I think it starts with his size and his strength. He can be that kind of mismatch guy and he’s got skill on tip of his strength.’’
Brook Lopez played in his 100th consecutive game, including the playoffs, noteworthy after his horrid injury history. But he was off his game Saturday, scoring just 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting. He had averaged more than 25 points per game in his previous three against the Hawks.
Willie Reed missed Friday’s game due to personal reasons, but joined the Nets late Saturday night and was activated. He didn’t appear until the fourth quarter, but played all 12 minutes and scored three points.
Sergey Karasev (sprained ankle) and Andrea Bargnani (sore right ankle) suffered injuries.