The Atlanta Hawks returned to the State Farm Arena on Saturday night to face the Cleveland Cavaliers. Atlanta shared the games with the Brooklyn Nets in a three-day miniseries.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (4-2) defeated the Atlanta Hawks (4-2) by a score of 96-91.
Atlanta was once again without key players Danilo Gallinari and Rajon Rondo, and they could have used their veteran scoring and gameplay skills in this game.
De’Andre Hunter started exactly where he left off on Friday night, where he scored 23 points from 9 out of 10 shots against the Nets. Hunter was extremely aggressive and involved in the attack early in the game. He started his night with a monstrous knock on Andre Drummond.
Hunter was also not afraid to shoot. He fearlessly punched a 3-point pull-up – a shot that young players may be afraid to make.
Hunter finished the first quarter with 12 points, which led all the top scorers. Trae Young was right behind him with nine points and three assists.
The Hawks played a really clean opening room. The team only committed two fouls in total and had no comeback in the period.
The fourth started with lots of scores and limited defense, but the Hawks had an 11-4 run at the end of the quarter to command the lead. The Hawks led the Cavaliers 35-25 at the end of the first quarter.
The Hawks played well in the first quarter, but didn’t have that crazy 40-point quarter that we saw a few times this year. The second quarter involved even less scores. The Hawks scored seven points in the first six minutes of the second period.
A good sign for the Hawks is that they played very defensively. In particular, Cam Reddish was everywhere on the defensive side of the ball.
Clint Capela had a spectacular second bedroom. In the interval, their totals were 12 points and 10 rebounds – six of them on the offensive side. He also added two thefts to the statistics sheet.
The Hawks completed a defensive quarter with a 56-44 lead at halftime. Atlanta only scored 21 points in the period, but held the Cavaliers with 19 points.
Young did not enter the board in the second quarter, but added four assists, making him seven in the break.
Chapel opened the third bedroom with a transition from its second bedroom set. He scored the first four time points for the Hawks and added a block in the opening minutes of the period.
He continued to clean the glass too. With 7:54 to the end of the third, Capela reached seven offensive and seven defensive rebounds, totaling 14 in just 20 minutes of play.
In most of the first three quarters, the Hawks maintained an advantage of around 10 points. However, the Hawks were apparently exhausted as the quarter passed.
The Cavaliers overcame the Hawks by 18 to 7 in the last 6:31 of the period, reducing the advantage to just four points. This race has more to do with the Hawks ‘inability to score and less with the Cavaliers’ offensive ability.
Atlanta spent almost four minutes in that race without hitting a basket. Gallinari and Rondo were lost in this period, as Bruno Fernando, Brandon Goodwin and Solomon Hill were not very effective. The Hawks led the Cavaliers 74-70 in the last quarter.
The Cavaliers started the fourth period by scoring the first six points and taking the first advantage since the first two minutes of play. They overtook the lead to score a 76-74 goal with 9:45 to go, forcing coach Lloyd Pierce to score the first time out of the quarter.
The Hawks quickly scored from Kevin Huerter’s shot in Atlanta’s first ball possession after that timeout to tie the game. The Cavaliers took an 84-83 lead with 5:29 remaining and held it until Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a 3 point clutch with 48.2 remaining in the game.
Collin Sexton returned with a three of his own, giving Cleveland a 91-88 lead with 29.9 remaining in the race, forcing the Hawks to ask for another time. After a foul attempt at the end of Atlanta, the Cavaliers held on for the 96-91 victory.
Capela had his best game as an Atlanta Hawk and led the way on the glass. He recorded 16 points, 16 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Young had his lowest total points of the season. He finished with 16 points and 10 assists, registering his second double-double of the year.
This game ended up being a shredder for the Hawks, and they just couldn’t win in the end. This was the production with the lowest score of the season.
The Hawks will remain in Atlanta for a match against the New York Knicks on Monday.