There are losses – and then there are losses of epic proportion.
The Hawks were on the wrong side of one of the most amazing playoff performances in NBA history Wednesday night.
The Cavaliers destroyed the Hawks 123-98 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with an absolute record-setting barrage of 3-pointers at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers lead the best-of-seven series 2-0.
The Cavaliers, who led by as many as 41 points, made an NBA record 25 3-pointers in the victory. The most in any game – regular season or playoffs. They finished 25 of 45 (.556) from the distance, as 10 different players connected, and made only 16 field goals from anywhere else.
“I’ve never seen a team shoot that well in one game,” Kyle Korver said. “That was pretty amazing. If they shoot the ball like that, I don’t know if anyone can beat them, to be honest.”
The Cavaliers made 18 long-range baskets, on 27 attempts, in the first half alone. They shattered the record for 3-pointers in a half of 12.
How bad was it for the Hawks? Consider the first half:
* The Cavaliers were 18 of 27 (.667) from 3-point range. They were 6 of 21 (.286) from everywhere else.
* Seven different Cavaliers made a 3-pointer. J.R. Smith was 6 of 10 from long range. LeBron James and Kevin Love each had three.
* The Cavaliers led by as many as 38 points.
* The Cavaliers led 74-38 at intermission. They scored 39 points in the second quarter, one more than the Hawks had for the half.
Let all that sink in for a while.
“Just throwing it up there and they were going in,” Paul Millsap said. “You look at some of the 3’s, what else can you do? Give them credit. They came out, heated up, stayed hot, set a record. Enough said. Move on to the next game.”
Overall, the news wasn’t much better for the Hawks. They have now lost all 10 postseason games against the Cavaliers. In addition, the Cavaliers are 9-0 all-time when leading a playoff series 2-0.
The Cavaliers made 15 3-pointers in their Game 1 victory. They set the NBA record for 3-pointers in a postseason at 20 in their first-round series against the Pistons. The Warriors eclipsed that with 21 in their opening series against the Rockets. The Cavaliers grabbed it back in a major way. They tied the record when Kyrie Irving connected with 5:37 left in the third quarter. Irving broke it when he connected just 32 seconds later.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game the Cavaliers’ 3-point shooting was a “huge concern.” His team has bigger problems now.
“In transition we are not doing a good enough job,” Budenholzer said. “We need greater urgency and greater understanding in getting to all of their shooters. I think it starts there. Then in the half court, they are in the paint a lot. When you collapse and people help, they are making the extra pass and making shots. Then the third piece, several of them, obviously, J.R. Smith are hitting extremely difficult 3’s on top of those first two things.”
The Cavaliers scored their 100th point with 3:51 left in the third quarter. James finished with 27 points. Smith had 23 points, including seven 3-pointers and Irving had 19 points. Love had a double-double, his sixth straight in the postseason, of 11 points and 13 rebounds. All four did their damage in less than three quarters. James has averaged 30.8 points per game in 10 playoff victories over the Hawks.
The Cavaliers’ 41-point advantage, 84-43, came with 9:25 left in the third quarter on, of course, a James’ 3-pointer.
“J.R. Smith did a great job of getting them going by being super aggressive,” Kent Bazemore said. “One time, he had his heal above the out-of-bounds line and he knocked it down. A game like this you have to shake their hand and move on to the next one.”
The Atlanta Hawks largest playoff loss was a 43-point defeat, 114-71, to the Magic on May 4, 2010 – six years to the day from Wednesday’s debacle. The largest playoff defeat in franchise history was a 58-point loss, 133-75, for St. Louis against Minnesota on March 19, 1956.
Millsap led the Hawks with 16 points and 11 rebounds. At one point, the forward had 16 of the Hawks’ 32 points. Jeff Teague added 14 points who had six double-digit scorers.
The series moves to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4 Friday and Sunday. The Hawks, swept by the Cavaliers in last season’s conference finals, have lost nine straight overall to the Cavaliers.
“We are going home,” Budenholzer said. “We are going to Atlanta. It’s one game. They won their two games on their home court. Now, we are going home. Now the challenge is on us to have a heck of a night in Atlanta and win Game 3.”
If they don’t win, there might not be a return trip to Cleveland.
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