The Hawks returned to Cleveland for the first time in six months – and faced another ejection.
This time it was Mike Budenholzer.
The Hawks coach was ejected in the second quarter after receiving a technical foul. It was in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals in May that Al Horford was ejected in what would be an overtime loss. The Hawks were swept out of the playoffs the following game.
The Hawks (9-6) trailed by as many as 26 points en route to a 109-97 loss to the Cavaliers Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena. The outcome was never really in doubt when the Cavs went on a 16-2 run between the first and second quarters. The Hawks got as close as 13 points in the third quarter and finished 12 behind.
The Cavaliers (10-4) remained undefeated at home. The teams won’t meet again until April.
Three key players
Kevin Love: He led the Cavaliers with a game-high 25 points and added 11 rebounds.
Tristan Thompson: Starting for the injured Timofey Mozgov, he finished with nine points and 16 rebounds.
Kyle Korver: He finished with 14 points, including three 3-pointers
Five observations
Ejection
Budenholzer was sent packing with 6:27 left in the second quarter by official Ben Taylor. The Hawks’ Justin Holiday went in for a layup that was ruled a block by Richard Jefferson. It appeared that Holiday was hit across the face on the play, which was not called by officials. Holiday was slow coming up the court. Budenholzer argued the call with Taylor, who immediately gave him a technical foul and threw him out of the game. In a video replay, it appeared the two bumped into each other.
Holding LeBron in check – for awhile
The Hawks started Thabo Sefolosha at small forward to defend LeBron James. It worked through three quarters. James finished with 19 points, after scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter. In fact, until James made a pair of free throws with 10:05 left, Sefolosha had outscored the Cavs star 10-9. James did have a double-double win 11 rebounds. He was given a technical foul in the third quarter when he took himself out and went to the bench before the Cavs had a chance to substitute for him.
Enter Teague
Jeff Teague did not start in his return from a left ankle sprain but he came off the bench quickly. Dennis Schroder picked up two fouls in the first 1:48 of the game and Teague was summoned. Schroder picked up a third foul early in the second quarter. Teague scored a team-high 11 points in 15 first-half minutes. Schroder was held scoreless in his six minutes. Teague finished with 13 points on 3 of 12 shooting.
Poor rebounding
The Cavaliers owned the Hawks on the glass in the playoffs and they did it again Saturday. The Cavaliers finished with a 51-38 edge. In the first half, the Cavs led 30-16. Thompson (12) and Love (7) combined for 19 boards through two quarters – three more than the Hawks team. The Hawks lost Tiago Splitter to a sore right hip. He did not play the second half after having four points and no rebounds in nine minutes.
J.R. does it again
Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith picked up where he left off against the Hawks in the playoffs. He had 12 first-half points, making 4 of 10 3-point attempts, as the Cavs led by as many as 17 points in the second quarter. He finished with 15 points.
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