ATLANTA – Joe Johnson dug himself out of a shooting slump with 36 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 110-85 rout of the struggling Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

Atlanta's All Star guard, who entered the night with a lone 20-point effort from his last six games, racked up 28 in the first half and finished with six three-pointers.

Wearing a special black headband to protect his scalp after he underwent a procedure for a skin infection, Johnson just may have found a lucky charm.

"I was supposed to change headbands at halftime, but everybody jumped up saying, 'no, no.' I'm not a headband kind of guy, but for right now I have to wear it," Johnson told reporters.

"I was making quick moves in the post. You get a couple easy baskets, and the basket starts to open up a little bit."

Josh Smith added 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Hawks (39-28) who exploded with a 20-0 run spanning the first and second quarters en route to a second straight win.

With the win, Atlanta moved 2.5 games behind the fourth-place Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference.

Milwaukee (26-40), coming off an embarrassing loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday when they scored a franchise-worst 56 points, had 21 points and 13 rebounds from Andrew Bogut but fell two and a half games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Bucks had won three straight games prior to their current two-game slide, and were knocked out early by Atlanta.

"We had trouble getting back on defense early in the game, and we looked a little bit tired," said Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles. "It was just one of those games where we didn't play very well."

For more NBA action, watch the games on Studio 23 free TV. The games will also be shown on cable channel Basketball TV (BTV).