Ivan Johnson, Shannon Brown, and Brandon Rush all had two things in common on Tuesday night: all three of them set new season highs in the scoring column (career highs for Johnson and Brown), and all three of their teams lost. Shannon’s Suns and Brandon’s Warriors were simply overmatched, and Ivan’s Hawks got little production from their heavy hitters down the stretch. I just so happened to catch the part of each game where these dudes were having their best moments, and I was thinking… it’s really a damn shame they all lost, because their stellar performances will get swept right under the rug. I mean, my dude Ivan Johnson was putting in all the work at both ends in the fourth quarter while Josh Smith was shootin’ airballs and all I saw on my Twitter timeline was “Hawks lose, blah blah, Josh Smith 30 points.” Man, f@ck that. Josh Smith took 26 shots. Ivan Johnson deserves that mention.
So, I’m going to briefly summarize the fan-f@ckin’-tastic games that each of these three players had. They’re all deserving of some props that they’re probably not gonna get elsewhere.
Ivan Johnson (22:33): 17 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 7-7 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2 STL, 0 TO
Down in ATL they call Ivan Johnson “9 to 5,” ’cause he just shows up every day and gets the job done. While I’d prefer some sort of nickname that references his frightening image and/or gold fronts, he certainly lived up to the “9 to 5″ monicker in this battle with the Bucks. Ivan replaced Jeff Teague with 2:48 to go in the third and literally began to do absolutely everything. He knocked down a mid-range J on his second trip down the floor and followed it up with a two-handed dunk/gangsta-as-f@ck rim hang (pictured above) to bring his Hawks back to within one (down five when he checked in). Thanks to Ivan’s spark, Atlanta went into the fourth quarter with a one-point lead. They’d quickly lose it, though, as Monta Ellis began to go off. Monta scored on three consecutive Milwaukee possessions to start the fourth, but none other than Ivan Johnson was right there to score two straight buckets of his own, earning ATL the lead back. That would be the last time they led, though. Monta’s explosion continued–he dropped 17 of his 33 in the period–and Joe Johnson, who tried to answer Monta, struggled mightily, going 0-5 with a turnover in the fourth. Despite the lackluster play of his marquee teammate, the other Johnson never gave up. As the Hawks failed to put points on the board he ramped up his defensive effort. Twice he stepped out on the perimeter to check Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, and twice he came away with steals, resulting in three Hawk points. Then Josh Smith airmailed a three-pointer. As hard as he fought, Ivan couldn’t quite drag the Hawks to victory all by himself. Maybe if Monta hadn’t gone nuts.
Johnson ended up scoring 14 in the last 14 minutes of the 101-108 loss. He didn’t miss a single shot or commit a turnover in the entire game. He ripped two point guards in crunch time and hit the first three-pointer of his NBA career. All the while he looked ready to rip a dude’s head clean off his shoulders, and I’m sure he couldn’t care less about his career-high 17 points… he just wanted to win, probably more than anyone else on the floor (certainly more than anyone on the Hawks). How anyone can not love Ivan Johnson… I have no idea. The guy is inspiration personified.
Shannon Brown (42:06): 32 PTS, 1 REB, 3 AST, 11-18 FG, 5-10 3FG, 5-5 FT, 0 TO
Against the Spurs, Shannon got started with a catch-and-shoot jumper off of a curl at the 9:44 mark of the first. I don’t know if Steve Nash passed him some sort of magic touch along with the basketball, but whatever Brown felt as he sunk that shot inspired him to start doing things I’ve never seen him do before. At one point during the third quarter–I can’t remember exactly when it happened–he put the ball on the floor and busted out a series of moves that left Patty Mills feeling lost and confused. Brown actually failed to finish on that play, but still… wow. I’d never seen Shannon Brown do anything like that. I’m telling you, this combo move was Iverson-esque. All game long Shannon was creating space, knocking down jumpers off the dribble… just hitting everything he threw at the basket. I was most impressed by how he sustained the hot hand. After hitting six of his seven shots in the first quarter he drilled three of five in the third quarter. The Suns ultimately lost 100-107 ’cause they didn’t play a lick of defense, and Shannon was part of that, but he stepped up huge on the offensive end. Phoenix gave up 62 in the first half, and I bet that would’ve left them down at least 10 if not for Brown’s ridiculous shooting. Instead, they trailed by just five and were right in it up until the Spurs went on a 10-0 fourth-quarter run.
Two things I didn’t mention should be noted: Firstly, I loved the decision by Alvin Gentry to play Shannon for basically the entire game. I can’t stand it when a coach sits a guy with a hot hand. These guys are professional athletes… they don’t need (or want) to rest. Secondly, Shannon used the attention he drew later in the game to make some solid passes. More than his three assists reflect.
Brandon Rush (32:40): 23 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 9-15 FG, 2-3 3FG, 3-3 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO
Due to a variety of injuries, the Warriors started Charles Jenkins and Jeremy Tyler in this game. They deserve all the credit in the world for fighting back from an early 16-point deficit and battling the Lakers right down to the bitter end. Brandon Rush hadn’t played much of a role in the second-quarter comeback… he had just two points on a pair of free throws when he checked in at the 9:33 mark of the third. However, he’d become Golden State’s most effective offensive player from that point on. He never again saw the bench, and he hardly missed a shot as he dropped 21 on 9-13 over a 20-minute stretch. Rush has been one of the league’s premier three-point shooters all season long, but he decided to show his athleticism in this one, frequently driving to the basket for dunks and layups. He did knock down two of the three long-balls he took, including a huge one that brought the Dubs to within three at the six-minute mark of the fourth. Rush went 4-5 in that fourth quarter AND guarded Kobe Bryant–pretty damn effectively, I might add. Kobe was 7-22 in the game and scoreless in the fourth until he managed to knock down two tough Js in the face of Rush on consecutive possessions between 1:22 and :32. Rush played great defense… Kobe just made better shots. Rush also made an excellent move to the rack with 26 seconds to go, but he came up with his lone miss of the period. It’s unfortunate that his potential game-tying shot rolled off the iron, but he should be praised for making a strong move and driving all the way to the front of the rim. How often do you find yourself shaking your head as someone settles for a jumper in a similar scenario? Excellent play by Brandon Rush… it just didn’t happen to work out this time.
LA ended up taking it 104-101, but man, this ragtag group of Warriors played a hell of a game. Dominic McGuire ran the point, guarded Pau Gasol, and came up with three blocked shots in the fourth quarter. His name could be up there in the title too. His numbers weren’t what Rush’s were, but he was huge on the defensive end (7 rebounds) and did his thing on the offensive end (4 points, 5 assists, only 1 turnover) as well.
Big ups to Ivan Johnson, Shannon Brown, and Brandon Rush. All three of them probably had the best game of their respective NBA careers.
Smith job is under the basket and stop shooting that Joe job. The coach should man up and tell him that. Atl will never i say never win if J. Smith keep the shooting up and i will bet on that