Hooped Up

All-Star Joe Johnson turned his right ankle on a layup attempt with 3:32 to play in the third quarter.

He limped to the bench with a severe ankle sprain and the Hawks trailing by 32 points, both of them done for the night long before the final buzzer.

While the reserves were on the court finishing the Hawks’ fifth consecutive blowout loss in this postseason — the Cavaliers’ biggest lead was 36 points — Johnson was in a wheelchair being pushed by one of the team’s doctors. They were leaving the Cavaliers’ locker room, where Johnson’s right ankle was being X-rayed.

The results were negative. And Johnson was upbeat on his way out of the building in a walking boot.

“I’ve got a boot on, but I ain’t walking out of here on crutches,” Johnson said. “I can’t see me not playing in Game 3 [Saturday at Philips Arena]. I’m looking forward to getting back out there with guys. And we’ve got 48 hours to get some treatment and try and get better, and we’ll see what happens.”

Atlanta Journal Constitution