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Johnson, Hawks welcome in Bobcats

Dec 15, 2007 - 3:28 PM Charlotte (8-13) at Atlanta (10-12) 7:00 pm EST

ATLANTA (Ticker) - The Atlanta Hawks look to bounce back when they welcome in the struggling Charlotte Bobcats in the first of a three-game homestand on Saturday.

The Hawks dropped their second straight game, 91-81, on Friday to the Detroit Pistons on the road, wasting Joe Johnson's 14th 20-point effort of the season.

Atlanta should get a boost to its rotation with the return of rookie forward Al Horford, who served his one-game suspension for an flagrant foul on Toronto's T.J. Ford in Tuesday's loss.

Taken second overall out of Florida in June's draft, Horford is averaging 8.8 points and 10.3 rebounds.

The Bobcats also suffered a setback on Friday, a 103-87 loss to Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. Emeka Okafor and Gerald Wallace each scored 16 points in the loss.

Earlier on Friday, Charlotte traded for the services of Detroit Pistons center Nazr Mohammed in exchange for Walter Herrmann and Primoz Brezec.

The Bobcats get a defensive-minded center in the 6-10 Mohammed, who has averaged just 3.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in Detroit's crowded frontcourt.

"Nazr brings the type of big body, experience and athleticism that we been looking to add to our team," Bobcats general manager Ron Higgins said. "Having evaluated our roster from top to bottom, we felt it necessary to make this move and bring in a guy who could immediately help this franchise."

In their first meeting here on November 14, Johnson collected 34 points and 10 boards to hold off 54 combined points from Wallace and Jason Richardson.