ATLANTA – This is what they call grit and grind.
The unprepared Cleveland Cavaliers, amid the toughest trip of the season and losing two games, recovered 15 points less in the second half to surprise the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, 96-91.
For months, head coach JB Bickerstaff preached about a specific identity for the Cavaliers. Saturday showed that.
“When we entered the locker room during our coaches’ break, we asked them what they thought and received their opinion,” said Bickerstaff after the game. “They said they had already discussed it. They knew what we needed to do. They knew that we needed to move the ball. They knew that we needed to play together. They knew we needed to get rid of it. My challenge for them was to put the words into practice. These things are easy to say, but much more difficult to do. And they went and took the words to action ”.
Without Kevin Love. Not Isaac Okoro. No Dylan Windler. Not Kevin Porter Jr. Not Matthew Dellavedova. Another slow start, which led to a 15-point hole in the road against a top team that won four of their first five games and came from a massive victory the night before in Brooklyn. The three-point shots did not fall early. There were size mismatches across the court. But none of that mattered. Bickerstaff’s message after Thursday’s loss to Indiana, on how to deal with adversities in the game, clearly echoed.
Certain Cavs did not allow frustration to get the better of them. Instead, they continued to believe, to fight and to press. Suddenly, it was a game of two possession at the beginning of the fourth period. Then, Cleveland finally overcame the obstacle, poking the front at the 9:47 mark.
Even when the Hawks tied the game with a Bogdan Bogdanovic triple in the final minute, the Cavs stayed together, calmly ran their attack and threw the ball to their most prolific scorer, Collin Sexton, who broke the tie – a cold-blooded 3 with 27.2 seconds remaining.
“He’s a walking bucket,” said Bickerstaff. “There are certain people who have a special talent for putting the ball in the basket in any way. The child is not afraid of the big moments. When we needed a basket, he went and made a basket, and that is a unique skill. We must commend this skill because it helps you on nights like this. We were fighting on the field, having difficulties to score, the guys are fighting and fighting, but we couldn’t do that on the offensive side, so it was great to have a weapon like this that can be bucket on demand. “
Sexton scored 27 points, the highest score in the game, including 13 in the fourth period, half of Cleveland’s output. He is the first player with at least 20 points in each of the Cavs’ first six games in a season since LeBron James in 2004-05. Sexton is the fourth player to accomplish the feat in the franchise’s history, joining James, Austin Carr and Bingo Smith.
“It is definitely important for Collin to start attacking in the right way,” said JaVale McGee. “Making sure he is shooting correctly. He’s definitely getting better and better at knowing where to pick his seats to get into his bag and really take his pictures, and then when to pass and when to take over. ”
McGee gave a big boost off the bench, scoring 14 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“I thought JaVale was unbelievably defensively,” said Bickerstaff. “He came and showed our boys what it’s like to be a winner. He played in the final stretch, and what it did was to make people want to go out to compete and fight with him. Everyone on that floor saw him and accepted the challenge because they didn’t want to be the guy who wasn’t doing the job ”.
Andre Drummond recorded his sixth consecutive double-double, with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Cedi Osman, back in his new reserve role, scored 11 points.
With the Hawks playing the second night in a row, Bickerstaff talked about the importance of getting started quickly, hoping to take advantage of Atlanta’s tired legs. Even if that didn’t happen, the Cavs kept up the pressure all night – and increased even more in the last 24 minutes – until the league’s most prolific attack strangely gave way, scoring just 35 points.
It is the first time in the entire season that the Hawks have been kept below the 100 point limit. The All-Star guard Trae Young, the attack engine who entered the night ranked third in the scoring, was bothered on a 16 point night out of an inefficient 6 out of 16 from the ground and 2 out of 5 from the 3- point range .
“They bet 35 on us in the first quarter and then on the other three quarters of the game, for 36 minutes of basketball, we kept them with 53 points,” said Larry Nance Jr. “This is unprecedented. This is unprecedented. As we always say, this is where we hang our hats every night. If you play defense, there is no game that you are out of. “
Last Sunday’s victory against Philadelphia marked a surprising opening week. But the Cavs look different since then. In part, because they are. Even with shorthanded, missing some key rotation pieces, they have the same DNA, which Bickerstaff is trying to instill in his short-handed group: Grit and grind.
That’s how the culture starts to change.
Next
Cavs goes to Orlando for two games in a row. The first is Monday, with the denunciation scheduled for 19h.
–
New Cavs face masks for sale: This is where you can buy Cleveland Cavaliers-themed facial covers for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($ 14.99) and a pack of 3 ($ 24.99). All NBA proceeds donated to charities.
More Cavaliers coverage
Cavaliers losing the reliable setter Isaac Okoro – at both ends of the floor
Love hurt again, Garland getting up, a few words about the defense – Terry’s Talkin ‘
Bickerstaff talks to Cavaliers about confidence, composure in the face of adversity
Cavaliers end 2020 in fashion, lose second place to Pacers
Windler must not play during the Cavaliers’ six-game trip
Larry Nance Jr. gained prominence after Kevin Love’s injury
Cavaliers see growth in first loss: ‘Last year we probably would have lost by 30’