Cavs Fall to Hawks in Final Emirates Cup Game

*** The Cavs and Hawks battled back-and-forth for four quarters in Friday night’s Dirty South slugfest, but a 21-second span in the final minute doomed Cleveland’s comeback effort and spoiled a heroic performance by Donovan Mitchell. 

The Cavaliers got a pair of starters back, but couldn’t outlast a hot Hawks team that shot 53 percent and had seven players in double-figures – led by Jalen Johnson’s triple-double – dropping the 130-123 decision at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

After helping the Wine and Gold overcome an eight-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter, Mitchell scored five straight points as Cleveland tied the game at 123-apiece with 1:36 to play. But Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher and Nickeil Alexander-Walker drilled three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, and the Cavaliers wouldn’t score again – falling to 2-2 in NBA Cup Group play and short of the eight-team knockout stage. 

“Credit to (Atlanta), they found something and kept continuing to do it,” said a frustrated Mitchell, on the Hawks’ last-minute surge. “We’ve just got to get back on defense, and that's how they got a lot of their points. And that's what's frustrating, we just couldn't do that. And it's a mental thing. That's what I've been talking about, we've struggled with it. We've had good spurts, and we've had some rough patches. But we’ve got to do it, and tonight we didn't, and that's ultimately why we lost.”

As always, Mitchell did his best work when the Cavs needed him most. After falling behind by 13 points in the first quarter, the six-time All-Star scored 16 points in the period to lead Cleveland’s comeback. And he poured in 16 more in the fourth as the Cavs mounted their furious final rally. 

On the night, the East’s reigning Player of the Week finished with a game-high 42 points, going 15-for-28 from the floor, including 7-of-15 from long-range and 5-of-5 from the stripe, adding three boards, three assists and a steal. Friday marked his second 40-point performance of the season, 21^st as a member of the Cavaliers.

Darius Garland returned to the lineup and was one of two Cavaliers to notch a double-double on Friday – finishing with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting and leading Cleveland with 10 assists. Evan Mobley chalked up his eighth double-double in the loss, netting 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, adding seven assists, two steals and a pair of blocks. It was Mobley’s ninth game this year with multiple rejections. 

De’Andre Hunter chipped in with 16 points, four boards and a pair of steals against the team with which he spent the first five-and-a-half seasons of his career before last year’s Deadline deal. 

Jarrett Allen returned from a three-game absence to finish with eight points, eight boards and a block – putting him one swat from passing Brad Daugherty and entering the franchise’s all-time top 10. 

The Cavaliers drilled 17 triples on Friday night, were 18-of-20 from the stripe and outrebounded the Hawks, 48-38. Cleveland handed out 29 helpers, but Atlanta – the league’s top assist team – dished out 36 while committing just 14 miscues. 

Jalen Johnson accounted for 12 of those dimes, capping his second triple-double of the season with team-highs in points (29) and rebounds (12). 

*** Jaylon Tyson led Cleveland’s second unit with nine points, going 3-for-10 from the floor and leading the team with three steals. Lonzo Ball led the reserves with five boards and four assists. 

*** The Cavaliers close out the month of November with the first half of a back-to-back – welcoming the Celtics to town on Sunday night – and start the month of December with the second half – traveling to Indiana for a Monday night matchup with the Pacers. From there, it’s a three-game Western Conference homestand, with the Blazers making their lone Rocket Arena appearance on Wednesday, followed by visits from the Spurs on Friday and Warriors on Saturday.