Hawks Lose to Cavs 123-114 on LeBron’s 17 Assists

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up their 20^th win of the season, victimizing the Atlanta Hawks with outstanding three-point shooting (20-38 from beyond the arc) and an exquisite performance from LeBron James (who tied a career-high with 17 assists).

The Hawks came out with energy and effort on the road, keeping the Cavs on their toes and knotting the score up at 31 through one quarter. The 2^nd quarter, however, showed the Cavs to be a clearly superior team as they kept up the pace by scoring 31 points again, but the Hawks were only able to manage a meager 17.

After falling down by 14, the Hawks never sniffed the lead again and the Cavs were able to do whatever they wanted on offense. LeBron James in particular sliced and diced the Hawks’ defense (even more so than usual).

James finished with an astonishing stat line of 25 points on 11-13 shooting with 17 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a game-high +19 box plus/minus. Amazing.

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Notably for the Hawks, Dennis Schröder did not play a minute in the 4^th quarter of this game, which is a surprising development for the team’s best player. This is the second straight game that Coach Bud has opted to start Isaiah Taylor in the 4^th, who provides far more defensive effort than Dennis.

Schröder notched 14 points on 6 of 15 shooting with 5 assists in 27 minutes of play, but his defensive effort was utterly lacking, as former Hawk Jose Calderon (of all people) seemed to have his way with Dennis on the offensive end. Dennis did not provide even the faintest whisper of a contest on numerous jump shots and drives to the basket by Calderon, who logged 14 points on only 5 of 7 shooting with 4 assists.

Isaiah Taylor, whose numbers were inflated by a superior garbage time lineup from the Hawks, looked to be a better option for the away team on this night. Taylor’s infectious energy and blazing speed led to 5 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and a +7 BPM in only 18 minutes of play.

While there is no doubt that Dennis Schröder is a superior offensive player to Taylor, Schröder’s tendency to omit the defensive portion of his game on a nightly basis is troubling – especially since he is the nominal leader of this young team that lacks stable, steady veterans.

Elsewhere among the starters, Kent Bazemore had another tremendous all-around game. In the 4^th quarter, Baze realized that the Cavs had pretty much stopped defending so he started heaving up three-point attempts with reckless abandon – almost shooting the Hawks back into contention in this game.

A few quick buckets from the Cavs quelled that swift surge, but the Hawks still outscored the Cavs 37-29 in the 4^th.

Getting back to Baze; his final stat line was gaudy: 20 points on 7-12 shooting (6-9 from downtown), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and +1 BPM in a game the Hawks lost by 9. Bazemore has the capacity to put up these numbers for the Hawks, but he rarely fulfills this line due to general inconsistency.

Recently, he has strung together quite a few of these all-around performances, so hopefully this is the new norm for one of the Hawks longest-tenured players.

Taurean Prince also had a fantastic game and was the Hawks’ best option on both ends of the floor throughout much of the first half. The Prince That Was Promised came out and strong and showed poise in his finishing and was making good decisions as a ballhandler on every possession.

Prince finished with a career-high 24 points on a hyper-efficient 8 of 10 shooting performance (also getting to the line for 6 free throws). The Pump-Fake Prince also nabbed 7 rebounds and proffered 6 assists.

Taurean had a terrific all-around game, and he did not shrink from playing against LeBron James – a truly terrifying player in all aspects. Prince was tasked with defending The King on most possessions, then asked to turn around and create offense on the other hand. That would be a tough ask for anyone, but in his second year, Taurean has shown that signs that he can be a solid contributor for a good team.

Lastly, Tyler Cavanaugh logged his first career start tonight against the Cavs. Though he got bullied a bit by crafty veterans like Kevin Love and Lebron, his nonstop motor and supreme effort are laudable on a team that needs that gritty determination. Cavanaugh finished with only 11 points, but he did have a career-high 9 rebounds, 5 of which were on the offensive glass.

The Hawks’ next game is back home at Phillips Arena on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. EST against the Detroit Pistons.