Hawks 114, Cavaliers 111: A 19-2 second-quarter run sinks Cleveland in Atlanta
Atlanta erased a 15-point deficit and held on after two Donovan Mitchell looks to tie it missed.
Atlanta found its way out of a 15-point first-quarter hole on Thursday night and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-111 at State Farm Arena, snapping a three-game losing streak and ending Cleveland's three-game winning streak. The Hawks improved to 3-3; the Cavaliers fell to 3-2, 0-2 on the road, according to ESPN.
A bad start, then a swing
Cleveland scored 28 points in the first quarter to Atlanta's 16, the Hawks' lowest-scoring quarter of the season. Yahoo Sports notes it was the fourth straight game in which Atlanta has trailed by at least 15.
The second quarter reversed it. Atlanta opened with a 19-2 run that turned a 35-24 deficit into a 43-37 lead, and the Hawks won the quarter 30-16. Cleveland's 16 points tied its lowest-scoring quarter of the season. By quarter, the Hawks scored 16, 30, 43 and 25; the Cavaliers 28, 16, 38 and 29.
Who did it
Onyeka Okongwu had a season-high 29 points and 12 rebounds. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 25, and Aaron Wiggins scored 20 off the bench on 8-of-14 shooting.
For Cleveland, James Harden scored 24 and Donovan Mitchell 22. Sam Merrill made four of his eight three-point attempts.
The closing seconds
The game stayed within reach until the end. With 20.6 seconds left, Mitchell's driving layup cut Atlanta's lead to one. Alexander-Walker answered with two free throws with 15.3 seconds left, restoring a three-point lead. On Cleveland's final possession, Mitchell had two looks that could have tied it, and both missed, per ESPN.
What it means
The result is a small one in a long season, but it reflects a pattern worth noting from the numbers above: Atlanta has now fallen far behind in four consecutive games, and this was the one in which it recovered most of the way and held on. Cleveland, meanwhile, lost with one of its poorest quarters of the year in the middle of the game and still had a chance to tie on the last possession.
Atlanta's 43 points in the third quarter were the most either team scored in any period, and they helped it carry the lead the rest of the way.