Cavs Rally, Fall to Hawks

The Wine and Gold have been very good on the road in the second half of the season – having won four straight, five of six and eight of 12 since the start of February away from home. But Atlanta remains a tough place for the Cavaliers to figure it out. 

Playing without starters Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro and despite another monster night from Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs couldn’t complete a late rally for their fifth straight win – dropping the 120-118 decision on Tuesday night and falling for the fifth straight occasion at State Farm Arena.

The Hawks came into Tuesday’s contest hoping to rally into the Conference’s coveted 6^th-seed; the Cavaliers, having clinched a Playoff berth on Sunday night, hoping to secure home court advantage in the First Round (or possible even catch the struggling Sixers for the 3^rd-seed). 

Even without two of their defensive stalwarts – Okoro nursing a sore left knee; Allen a right groin strain – the Wine and Gold held Trae Young to 4-of-15 shooting. But the Hawks hit 11 more free throws overall, and their reserves outscored Cleveland’s, 44-14. 

Mitchell went off for his tenth 40-point performance of the season – netting 44 points on 15-for-33 shooting, including 5-of-12 from long-range and 9-of-9 from the stripe, adding five boards, five assists and a pair of steals in the loss. 

Mitchell scored 17 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter, and he almost made 20 – drawing back iron on a three-point attempt from halfcourt at the buzzer after getting Cleveland to within one with just under a minute to play. 

In those closing moments, the Cavs let precious seconds tick off the clock before fouling with 3.1 seconds to play and Atlanta up one. Young split the free throws, but Mitchell couldn’t sink the half-court heave as time expired. 

Evan Mobley moved back into the center spot and the seven-footer from USC was simply outstanding on both ends in Atlanta – doubling-up for the 23^rd time this year with 20 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, going 10-for-13 from the floor and leading Cleveland with six assists and both teams with four blocks. 

Darius Garland was the only other Cavalier in double-figures – but he had another solid outing against Atlanta, finishing with 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting, going 6-of-6 from the stripe to go with five assists and a pair of rebounds. 

Dejounte Murray led the Hawks with 29 points on an even 11-of-22 shooting and Clint Capela doubled-up with 12 points and 10 boards, but it was Onyeka Okongwu who did the real damage – finishing with 21 points, nine boards and three blocks in 20 minutes off the bench, hitting all five shots he attempted from the floor and going 11-for-12 from the stripe.

Donovan Mitchell gets a big dunk at the beginning of the 3rd quarter against the Hawks.

Tuesday’s contest got off to a strange start. The Cavaliers led by 10 in the first quarter; the Hawks, by 15 in the second. 

The third quarter was close, but the Hawks looked poised to pull away early in the fourth – taking a 12-point lead on Trae Young’s triple with nine minutes to play in the ballgame. 

But Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell got Cleveland going with consecutive free throws and Mitchell mashed home another jaw-dropping dunk to get the Cavs to within six. Back-to-back buckets by Evan Mobley and Ricky Rubio got the Cavs back to within a deuce and Mitchell’s bomb with 5:30 to play put the Cavs back in front. 

It was back-and-forth from there, with a critical call against Mobley on a three-point attempt by Dejounte Murray swinging momentum and setting up the game’s final flurry.

19.2, 10.3 … Evan Mobley’s scoring and rebounding averages over his last six games – shooting 63 percent (50-of-80) from the floor, finishing with three double-doubles and handing out at least three assists in all six.  

Over that stretch, Mobley has blocked 17 shots – with five games of multiple swats, including three outings with four rejections. 

Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, on his squad’s effort in Tuesday’s tough loss down in Atlanta …

“I thought our guys battled their tails off. Guys, coming down here, shorthanded as we were; guys having to play as many minutes as they had to, you can’t give our guys enough credit for the effort they put forth, trying to put themselves in a position (to win).”

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and Rafa Hernandez-Brito from Power 98.1.

 The Cavaliers are closing in on the end of the regular season – with now just literally a handful of games remaining. 

They begin that final push with a big one on Friday – welcoming Julius Randle and the Knicks to town in what very well could be a First Round preview. On Sunday, the Pacers roll in before Cleveland makes its final trip of the season – traveling to Orlando for a pair next Tuesday and Thursday nights. 

The Wine and Gold close out the 2022-23 campaign with an afternoon visit from the Hornets on Easter Sunday.