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Johnson leads Hawks over Trail Blazers

Jan 19, 2012 - 4:56 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Joe Johnson had 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Portland Trail Blazers to take a 92-89 decision on Wednesday.

Josh Smith added 17 points and 11 boards as Atlanta closed out a perfect four- game homestand.

Jamal Crawford scored 22 points with five assists and LaMarcus Aldridge netted 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in Portland's fourth loss in five games.

"The season is a bunch of highs and lows but we have got to figure it out," said Crawford. "We played great at home. We have got to figure out the road."

Atlanta held a 75-62 lead entering the fourth quarter after finishing the third with a 14-0 run and looked like they would cruise to the victory.

But the Blazers opened the fourth by scoring the frame's first 14 points to knot the game at 75 with less than seven minutes to play.

Crawford scored six points in the spurt, capping the run with a driving layup.

Smith answered in kind at the other end to put the Hawks back on top before Crawford nailed a trey for a 78-77 Portland lead.

Johnson, though, hit a fadeaway jumper and followed that with a shot from beyond the arc to spark Atlanta's 11-2 swing that gave the Hawks an 88-80 advantage with a minute to play.

Portland battled back to 88-85 with a pair of Wesley Matthews free throws and a Crawford three-pointer with 19.6 seconds showing on the clock, but Atlanta used good ball movement to take precious time off the clock and made enough free throws down the stretch to hold off Portland for the win.

"Coming in against a team that's playing pretty good this season, it definitely was a test for this ball club. I think that we were able to answer the bell," Smith said.

The Hawks led, 21-17, after the first quarter and stretched that lead to nine points at 51-42 after two quarters.

Game Notes

It was Crawford's first game back in Atlanta after signing with Portland as a free agent in the offseason. He spent the past two seasons as a Hawk...Portland center Marcus Camby missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle...Atlanta leads the all-time series 50-49 and has taken six straight games against the Blazers.