The Hawks’ road woes are over — in dramatic fashion.
Jeff Teague made a game-winner at the buzzer of the second overtime for a 127-125 victory over the Cavaliers on Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena. It snapped a five-game road losing streak.
Teague scored seven points in the final period. Kyrie Irving scored 12 points in the second overtime and four in the first for the Cavaliers, who lost their third consecutive game.
There was some bad news for the Hawks as they lost two starters — Al Horford with a right shoulder injury in the first overtime and DeMarre Carroll to a sprained right thumb in the fourth quarter.
Teague made a 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining in the first overtime to tie the score at 108-108. A Cavaliers turnover gave the Hawks the ball with 2.4 seconds left. Teague’s final attempt failed, sending the game into a second extra period.
The Hawks (16-13, 5-9 road) hadn’t won away from Philips Arena in more than a month.
The Cavaliers used an 11-1 fourth-quarter run to turn a three-point deficit into a seven-point advantage, 88-81. After the teams traded baskets, Horford and Kyle Korver made back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Hawks to within a point, 90-89, with 4:57 remaining.
The Hawks tied the score at 95-95, on a Horford basket with 1:04 remaining. It was the last basket in regulation. Teague missed a potential game-winner in the lane and the Cavaliers had one last possession with .9 seconds left in regulation. Anderson Varejao missed at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
Teague led the Hawks with a double-double of 34 points and 14 assists. Horford added 25 points before leaving with his injury. Paul Millsap (20 points, eight in the first overtime) and Kyle Korver (20, seven in the second overtime) were the other double-digit scorers. Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 98 games with a 3-pointer.
The Cavaliers (10-18, 8-6 home) dropped to 3-1 in overtime games this season.
Irving led the way with a game-high 40 points. The Hawks held Irving scoreless in a lopsided victory in Atlanta earlier this month.
“I think it was just one of those nights for Kyrie,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game, talking about the first meeting. “We didn’t do anything. He is their best player. He’s one of the best players in our league, so of course you give him attention and you talk about him and you want to try to make life difficult for him.
“He just had one of those off-nights. We’ll try to make it difficult for him again. Hopefully, we’ll have some success.”
The Cavaliers lost their previous two games by a combined 39 points. The Hawks averaged 118.8 points in their previous four games.
“It’s always a concern for any team or any group that when they take a couple days off (for the Christmas holiday), that they come back and they are ready, that they understand that it’s time to focus and get after it,” Budenholzer said before the game. “Unfortunately, they are not robots, and we can’t program them.”
The Hawks took a 76-72 lead into the fourth quarter as Horford scored 12 third-quarter points.
The Hawks also owned a 50-48 lead at intermission after a back-and-forth first half. No team led by more than six points, and there were eight lead changes and nine ties.
Teague had 10 second-quarter points for the Hawks.
The Hawks host the Bobcats on Saturday.
About the Author
