Basketball News

Atlanta (Ticker) -- All-Star swingman Joe Johnson of the
Atlanta Hawks could be sidelined for up to a month with a right
calf contusion, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on its
web site Thursday.

Johnson suffered the injury when teammate Estaben Batista kicked
him in the leg during Monday's 88-81 loss to the Miami Heat.
Johnson, who leads the team in scoring, missed Wednesday's win
over Washington.

"We've been down this road all season," Hawks coach Mike Woodson
told the newspaper. "We'll have to battle as best we can
without Joe just like we did when other guys were out. But
there's no question that this hurts in a big way, because Joe is
such a big part of what we're about."

An All-Star for the time this season, Johnson had missed four
games earlier with a strain to the same calf from December
10-15.

The 26-year-old Johnson is averaging a career-high 25.0 points
and 4.4 assists through 57 contests in his second season with
Atlanta.