Cavs Seal 122-116 Win Against Hawks

“I don’t know what we ended in the possession game, I think someone told me in the fourth quarter we were plus-11,” said Kenny Atkinson, on Cleveland’s work on the defensive boards late. “I knew that was the key number, if we could control the rebounding and turnovers. Keeping that team off the offensive boards, limiting their possessions. If we play these guys in the playoffs, that’ll be number one. That’s their strength and we kind of mitigated that tonight.”

Mobley saved one of his best games for one of the biggest matchups, grabbing a game- and season-high 19 rebounds, adding 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting to go with three assists and three blocked shots. Wednesday marked the 20^th game this season that the reigning Defensive Player of the Year registered at least three swats. 

For Mitchell, Wednesday marked his second straight and 34^th game this season with at least 30 points – leading all scorers with 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting, going 6-for-6 from the stripe to go with seven boards, four assists and a block. 

“When you blow a 17-point lead and they cut it to three, how do we respond? We didn’t hang our heads down. We figured it out,” said Mitchell. “And that comes with (experience), dealing with a loss on a national stage. That’s what it’s gonna be. It’s hard to beat a team like that by 20. And that’s what you see with experience. The ability to be calm, cool and collected throughout.” 

James Harden chipped in with 21 points despite a rough shooting night, adding five boards, four assists and a pair of steals in the win. 

Jarrett Allen had a solid night, adding 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting, going 8-of-11 from the stripe to go with eight boards and two steals. 

After missing the previous seven games with an ankle injury, Dean Wade returned the starting lineup to finish with eight points, four boards, a steal and a block in 21 minutes of work, going 3-of-4 from the floor, 2-of-3 from long-distance. 

Overall, the Cavs shot 46 percent from the floor to Atlanta’s 48 percent, but Cleveland took 20 more free throws than Atlanta, going 28-of-35 from the stripe. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hawks with 25 points and Jonathan Kuminga led all reserves, finishing with 24 points. The aggressive Cavs were able to foul out both of Atlanta’s starting forwards – with both Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels earning DQ’s in the fourth quarter. 

*** After downing the Hawks on Wednesday night – the Cavaliers wrap up the season with one more on the road and one more at home. On Friday night, they complete the home-and-home set against the Hawks in Atlanta before returning to Rocket Arena to wrap up the campaign against the Wizards on Sunday evening on Fan Appreciation Night. 

*** Wednesday’s matchup against Atlanta was billed as a potential playoff preview and that’s exactly how it felt from the opening tip. 

Both teams came out swinging in the first of two straight meetings between these two, with five ties and seven lead-changes in the first half. But the Cavaliers came out of the locker room after intermission with an edge, scoring 44 points in the third quarter and holding the Hawks off in the fourth to seal the 122-116 win at Rocket Arena. 

Evan Mobley got the Wine & Gold rolling – notching a double-double before the break – and Donovan Mitchell’s 13-point third period led the way as Cleveland won its fourth straight contest, sixth in the last seven. 

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Both teams traded blows in the first half, with Atlanta pulling ahead by 11 just before halftime. After a back-and-forth start to the third quarter, the Cavs erupted from there, closing the period on a 29-11 run to take a 17-point edge into the fourth quarter. The Cavs were cruising along to start the fourth, but the Hawks went on a 17-2 burst of their own and got to within a deuce with five minutes to play. 

But Cleveland knuckled down defensively and owned the boards the rest of the way, while Mitchell and James Harden sealed the deal late from the free throw line.