The Atlanta Hawks own two of the more impressive — and surprising — victories of the young NBA season.
Currently holding the ninth spot in the Eastern Conference standings, Atlanta has knocked off the top two teams in the league on the road.
Without point guard Trae Young on Nov. 12, the Hawks shocked the defending champion Boston Celtics 117-116. On Tuesday, Atlanta handed the Cleveland Cavaliers their first home loss of the season — and second overall — battling back from a 19-point deficit to earn a 135-124 victory.
The Hawks are out to deliver again Friday when they host the Cavaliers in NBA Cup play. Atlanta is 2-1 in East Group C action, while Cleveland has split its two pool play games.
The Cavaliers looked to be on their way to an 11-0 record at home Wednesday night, jumping out to a 30-11 first-quarter lead. From there, the Hawks finished the opening quarter on a 24-5 run in what proved a statement from Atlanta.
The Hawks outscored Cleveland by 14 in the second half thanks to Young’s 20 points and 22 assists — the most in the NBA this season and just one shy of Mookie Blaylock’s franchise record of 23.
“After our start to the game, there was frustration from Trae and our whole team,” Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said. “Probably the most significant thing for me was the way we responded to being down, and Trae in particular. That’s been something that’s been a point of emphasis for him, just keeping his poise. He gave guys opportunities to make plays in the open court, and he trusted his teammates.”
Young improved his NBA-lead in assists per game at 12.5. De’Andre Hunter (26 points) and Jalen Johnson (22) led the scoring.
“My teammates made shots and I got them the ball in the spots that they like,” Young said. “They made the plays. That’s how you get assists. It’s teamwork.”
Young leads Atlanta with 21.8 points per game, followed by Johnson (20.1) and Hunter (17.6).
First-year head coach Kenny Atkinson couldn’t have asked for a better start to his time in Cleveland, winning 17 of his first 19 games.
However, Atkinson knows games can’t always go according to script. The Wednesday game against the Hawks proved that.
“We hadn’t had a stinker yet this year,” Atkinson said. “That was a stinker. It happens in the NBA. It’s unfortunate that it happened in front of our home crowd but we kind of deserved what we got tonight. … Our communication has got to be better, our physicality has to be better. I thought we were better in the second half, but by that time (Atlanta) was rolling.”
Donovan Mitchell’s 30 points led Cleveland, which made just 15 of its 48 (31.3 percent) 3-pointers, opposed to Atlanta’s 47.6 percent (20-for-42) mark from outside.
“It was bound to happen that we had a bad shooting night,” Atkinson added. “It’s about your character; do you really stick your nose in there and get stops when you’re not making shots, and that was probably the most disappointing thing about tonight.”
Mitchell’s 24.7 points per game lead the Cavaliers, while Darius Garland adds 20.2.
–Field Level Media