Cavaliers breeze past Hawks 123-114
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been known to struggle against some of the NBA’s bottom feeders this season. They’ve lost games to the Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks, none of which are currently in playoff position in the ill thought of Eastern Conference. That script changed Tuesday night as the Cavs met the Hawks for the third time this season, pummeling Atlanta en route to a 123-114 victory in Quicken Loans Arena.
While LeBron James usually consumes most of the scoring load, the Cavs had a particularly balanced effort against Atlanta Tuesday night. The King finished with 25 points, a career-high tying 17 assists and seven rebounds. Kevin Love recorded his 18th double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Jeff Green also finished with 17 points.
Kyle Korver splashed six three-pointers and finished with 19 points, while Jose Calderon scored 14 points and Jae Crowder chipped-in 13 points.
“When he’s shooting the ball as well as he is,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said of James, “he’s tough to defend. With the guys on the floor just giving him space to get downhill and get into the paint, guys are scared to help. He’s been playing great, very efficiency and that’s what we need from him.”
Early in the contest, it seemed like the Hawks were going to give the Cavs another stiff challenge. Both teams found themselves tied at 31 at the end of the first quarter, and the Hawks trailed just 48-44 after a Luke Babbitt three-pointer with 4:16 remaining in the first half. From that point forward, the Cavs enforced their superiority over the Hawks.
Cleveland closed the second quarter with a 14-4 run, capped by a Crowder three-pointer that gave them a 62-48 lead heading into halftime. It only got worse for Atlanta from there, when James opened the second half with back-to-back 15-foot jumpers that gave the Cavs a 20-point lead. Atlanta only came within single digits as the final seconds ticked off.
“I just think it’s important to have the right mix of guys on the floor at the same time,” Lue said. “That’s what we’ve been able to find as coaches and players, we found the right pieces on the floor to go with each other and that kind of opens up three-point shots for our guys and spacing for other guys, so it’s a good fix for us.”
With the win over the Hawks, the Cavs won their 15th game in their last 16 outings and ninth straight home game. The three ball has been particularly effective for Cleveland, which drained a season-high 20 three-pointers on Tuesday. The Cavs have now made at least 10 three-pointers in a franchise record 17 straight games.
Cleveland also reached the century mark in scoring in their 21st consecutive game, which is the second-longest point streak in franchise history. The team record is 36 in a row, set during the 1979-80 season. While the scorching scoring streak is impressive, they’ve done it without one game played by Isaiah Thomas and several other players in and out of the lineup.
One Cavalier that did return to the lineup on Tuesday was Tristan Thompson, who missed the previous 19 games with a calf injury. Thompson played just six minutes on Tuesday and didn’t register on the stat sheet. Dwyane Wade missed Tuesday’s game with left knee soreness.
Sure, the Cavs have had to hold on against worse teams like the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings, but they’re still expected to make a serious Finals run when warmer months arrive.
Their next matchup will be against the Los Angeles Lakers, another team currently out of playoff position.
POSTED 12/12/2017 22:09
Lake County Sentinel
Photo by Greg Goth
