Atlanta Hawks fall to Cleveland Cavaliers 121-114

An exciting game at Phillips Arena ended with a typical result from this matchup in recent years, as the Cleveland Cavaliers made a season-best 18 three-pointers on the way to a 7-point victory on the road over the Atlanta Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks came into this game thoroughly hobbled from injuries, as starting center Dewayne Dedmon was ruled out 3-6 weeks with a stress reaction in his left tibia. This was a huge blow for the team, as Dedmon had been the Hawks’ best player statistically so far this season.

This game did, however, see the return of a few key cogs in the rotation. Isaiah Taylor returned to action after missing 2 weeks with a retinal tear but he was extremely inefficient, and it definitely looked as if his vision was affected as he bricked two free throws quite badly.

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Luke Babbitt also returned after missing the last three games with a back issue; he seemed a little more comfortable than Taylor as he chipped in with 8 points on 2 of 4 shooting from 3, but his mobility was definitely hampered.

With Dedmon out, John Collins got his fourth straight start and his first career start at center. Collins acquitted himself well, scoring 13 points on 6 of 7 shooting with 7 rebounds (4 offensive). Collins was especially effective in the 1^st quarter, as he scored 9 of his 13 points and grabbed 4 of his 7 rebounds in the first frame.

The Cavs made adjustments on JC throughout the game and played him far more physically around the basket. In a scary moment for all Hawks fans, Collins left the game early in the 4^th quarter and did not return after aggravating something in his left shoulder against Dwyane Wade and Kevin Love. Stay tuned as more news becomes available about the injury to Collins.

Much like Collins, the rest of the Hawks came out swinging in the 1^st quarter – they fully looked the part of a team that had 4 days off after their previous game, but the Cavs matched them with stellar offensive execution and brutal efficiency from 3-point territory.

Kevin Love, in particular, was a wrecking ball inside. His nose for the ball led to a game-high 16 rebounds (including 6 offensive boards). Love added 25 points on 4 of 9 from 3 for a double-double, and those rebounds provided the Cavs with a mammoth 40-29 team rebounding edge.

The Hawks played well in spurts during this game, but as usual, were let down by a lack of offensive execution.

Early on, Dennis Schröder had been feasting on drives to the lane as the Cavs have no interior presence to deter drivers from knifing all the way to the rack. At one point during the end of the 2^nd quarter, Schröder victimized Jose Calderon for three straight easy layups.

Things changed in the second half, especially late, as Schröder was tasked with running on offense against LeBron James – a nearly impossible request. LeBron shut Dennis down and sealed the game late with a pull-up three to put the Cavs up 4 with 1:48 to go in the game. James really put this bout to bed by pinning a Schröder layup attempt to the backboard, then giving the Mutombo finger wag in the game’s final half-minute.

Schröder managed an impressive 27 points on 11 of 19 shooting with 5 assists, but Lebron (as is almost always the case) was the hero of this night.

He had a game-high 12 assists, some furious dunks as he rumbled down the lane, as well as an absolutely filthy block on Taurean Prince. In a disrespectful act of royal-on-royal violence, The King spiked the ball to the core of the Earth on an attempted Prince jump shot:

As always, there were some positive takeaways from this game for the Hawks.

Ersan Ilyasova, after looking befuddled and uncomfortable since returning to the rotation, rounded into form on this night and erupted for 22 points on a hyper-efficient 8 of 11 shooting from the field with a +4 box plus/minus. Ersan’s three-point shooting was stellar, and he also had a few strong finishes at the rim, including a nice dunk off a pick-and-roll.

DeAndre’ Bembry is also on the comeback trail, and looked to be playing his best basketball of the season on this night. Always one to be ultra-aggressive, Bembry parlayed that aggressiveness into a few breakaway steals as well as a few nice finishes in the lane – something he has been struggling with since returning from injury.

Off the dribble, Bembry had a nice spine move in the lane, which led to a layup, as well as a strong dunk off two feet with two hands. It was good to see that confidence from Bembry, who had been a little tentative in the paint up to this point.

The Hawks continue to fight hard and come up just short in games this season, but they are well-coached and have a lot of high-effort guys and younger players that are getting valuable playing time.

Next: Dewayne Dedmon’s first year in Atlanta has been great

Next up on the docket for the Atlanta Hawks are the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday for an early game at 3:00 p.m. EST.