Hawks soaring to nowhere

The Hawks have lost two in a row and seven of their last 11 games, including Saturday’s close loss to the much more talented Miami Heat. Joe Johnson had a game-high 28 points for the Hawks, who lost for the 10th consecutive time against Miami and blew leads of 16 points and 10 points.

Atlanta was without reserve forward Josh Childress, who sat out with a swollen left ankle. Childress, who is averaging just under 10 points per game, sprained his ankle in a loss to Sacramento the night before.

Johnson, meanwhile, has been great in his first season with the Hawks and leads the team with 19.8 points and 6.5 assists per game. Johnson is averaging 20.8 points over his last five games for one of the league’s youngest teams.

Johnson was recently invited to compete for a spot on the 2006 World Championships and 2008 Olympic team for the United States.

In other team news, point guard Tyronn Lue is recovering from a sprained ligament in his knee. Lue is expected to start running this week.