The Hawks erased two double-digit deficits to the Cavaliers.
And lost in overtime.
No April Fools’ joke.
The Hawks trailed by 21 points in the first half and 11 points in the fourth quarter and came back from both deficits to take leads only to lose to the Cavaliers 110-108 Friday night at Philips Arena.
Kyrie Irving went 5 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 19 seconds for the victory, which dropped the Hawks to 0-5 in overtime games this season. Al Horford missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
A 19-4 run in the fourth quarter, keyed by a pair of Kyle Korver 3-pointers, gave the Hawks a 92-88 lead with under four minutes remaining. Jeff Teague added a long-range basket to complete the run, his ninth of 11 points in the quarter. After the Cavaliers tied the game with four straight points, Paul Millsap scored for a 94-92 Hawks lead with 1:02 remaining. The Cavaliers got the next basket, more than a minute later, when Tristan Thompson converted an alley-oop dunk with 53.9 seconds left. LeBron James and Jeff Teague traded layups for a 96-96 tie with 29 seconds remaining. James held for a late shot but missed a fade-away baseline jumper and Kent Bazemore pulled down the rebound with 4.9 seconds left. Teague couldn’t get a shot off on the final possession to force overtime.
The Hawks (45-32) dropped their second straight game. They are now 0-5 against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers and Raptors, this season.
Millsap led the Hawks with a double-double of 29 points and 11 rebounds. Teague added 28 points.
The Cavaliers (54-22) broke a five-game regular-season losing streak in Atlanta. James had a near triple-double of 29 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists.
The Hawks trailed by as many as 21 points in the first half after a dreadful shooting stretch. They rallied with a 23-6 run to start the third quarter to take a 64-61 lead. It wouldn’t last long. The Cavaliers answered with a run of their own to regain a double-digit advantage by the final quarter.
The Hawks have three days off before hosting the Suns on Tuesday.
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