Atlanta Hawks Upset Cavaliers In Cleveland 114-100

The injury-riddled Atlanta Hawks played the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday evening. Were they able to upset the best team in the Eastern Conference?

The Atlanta Hawks returned to the court Friday night, one night after they defeated the Boston Celtics at Philips Arena. The win over Boston was extremely important. It once again proved that the Hawks can beat good teams.

They didn’t have any time to celebrate. Friday brought a road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs may struggle to play consistent defense, but they’re still the best team in the Eastern Conference. To make matters worse, Atlanta wasn’t playing with a full deck of cards.

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Dennis Schroder, Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore, and Thabo Sefolosha all missed the game due to injury or rest.

All five of them have started for the Hawks at some point this season. Facing the Cavaliers at full strength is tough. Facing them without major contributors is impossible. Or so we thought.

Without them, Atlanta was forced to start Jose Calderon, Tim Hardaway Jr., Taurean Prince, Ersan Ilyasova, and Kris Humphries. On paper, the Cavaliers had a significant advantage. I guess that’s why they play the games.

The Hawks are a funny team. They can lose to the Brooklyn Nets, but they can also beat the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, or Cleveland Cavaliers. If a team lets them hang around, they might just win. The Cavaliers have now learned that lesson twice this season.

Somehow, the Hawks came away with a 114-110 win. This was an unthinkable victory. That collection of players should not have beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have the best basketball player in the world! It just goes to show that anything can happen in the NBA.

The Hawks got off to a great start. They held a 21-19 after one quarter, thanks in large part to five first period points each from Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malcolm Delaney. Cleveland and Atlanta would play to a stalemate in the second quarter, with each team scoring 31 points.

At the half the Hawks led 52-50. Atlanta shot 51.2 percent in the first half and 33.3 percent from three-point range. Mike Dunleavy Jr. led them in scoring in the first half, scoring 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting.

The Cavaliers shot 48.8 percent from the floor, but just 27.3 percent from outside in the first half. LeBron James and Channing Frye led them in scoring with 12 points each. It was a lethargic first half performance by Cleveland. They didn’t look like the three-point launching juggernaut they were during their most recent contest against the Hawks.

Overall, the Hawks shot 50.6 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from deep. Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting and 4-for-9 from three-point range. Atlanta’s bench combined to score 55 points. Mike Dunleavy Jr. scored 20 points in the weirdest revenge game of all-time. Ersan Ilyasova and Mike Muscala each added 13 points.

The Cavaliers just didn’t have “it”. LeBron James was his usual outstanding self, scoring 27 points with eight rebounds and seven assists. Cleveland shot 48.1 percent from the field, but just 9-for-36 from three-point distance. The last time these teams played Cleveland made an NBA record 25 three-pointers.

James didn’t get much help from his teammates. Kyrie Irving had just 18 points, while Kevin Love finished with 15 points. Cleveland’s bench combined to score 21 points. Nine of those came from former Hawk Kyle Korver. Korver shot 2-for-6 from the field (all were three-point attempts).

The Hawks play again on Sunday. They’ll play Cleveland for the second time in three days, this time in Philips Arena. The win means Atlanta is 41-38 on the season. They haven’t clinched a playoff spot just yet, but this victory makes it extremely difficult for them to miss the postseason. Hawks fans can breathe a sigh of relief.

Next: Mike Budenholzer Is Still An Elite Coach

Did this game actually happen? Yes, this is real life. Even if it seems like a crazy dream.

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