What happened Sunday night did nothing to alter the fortunes of a Hawks team that seemed destined for an imminent playoff demise from the time Cleveland took them apart in the third quarter of Game 2 and Kyle Korver’s ankle became a contorted mess.
But if it’s possible for a team to drastically alter perceptions in a defeat, the Hawks managed that. They found their anger button. They were down two starters — Korver was injured and Al Horford was ejected in the second quarter by the game’s kangaroo court — but the remaining spare parts scrapped like they hadn’t for most of this postseason, and certainly the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals.
If it’s possible, they earned more respect in defeat than they did in their eight playoffs wins.
The bottom line, however, remains the bottom line. The Hawks lost in overtime to Cleveland 114-111. They trail the conference finals three games to none.
Their exit: still imminent. Probably Tuesday.
It was a strange night, even before Horford was ejected for a phantom flagrant foul. (More on that shortly). The Cavaliers came out as if believing (like everybody else) that the series was over. They shot 22 percent in the first quarter. LeBron James missed his first 10 shots. He didn’t get on the scoreboard until making two free throws four minutes into the second quarter and for most of the first half he was being outscored by Shelvin Mack.
Even once James and Cleveland finally snapped out of it — James had 15 points in a 33-point Cleveland third quarter — the Cavaliers couldn’t pull away. They couldn’t grow the lead bigger than eight points. The Hawks didn’t fizzle or fold. They scrapped more than they did in the first two games of the series combined.
What was it Kent Bazemore said after the dreadful second consecutive loss at home in Game 2?
“As a man, you’ve got to have the pride to go out there and stand up for yourself in front of your home fans and put up a bigger fight than that.”
What was it Jeff Teague said in continuing that narrative at Sunday’s shootaround? “We let them bully us and take over the game completely.”
A team of either missing or ailing bodies didn’t surrender this time. When Bazemore hit a three-pointer with 3:51 left, he gave the Hawks a 100-97 lead. The game stayed close and was tied at 104 when Teague had a chance to win it for the Hawks but missed a jumper at the end of regulation. The drama continued in overtime. Teague dropped in a three-pointer to give the Hawks a 111-109 lead. But James gave Cleveland the lead with a three-pointer with 36 seconds left, then followed with a drive after a Teague miss to make it 114-111. Two misses by Mack ended it.
But the memory of Horford’s ejection lingered. He was called for a Flagrant Foul-2 for elbowing Cleveland’s Matthew Dellavedova. The decision by game officials was made only after the replay had been shown close to a dozen times on the video board at Quicken Loans Arena, thereby working the crowd into a screaming, blood-thirsty frenzy.
The Cavs’ game operations staff did everything but hand out torches and pitch forks to the fans. And NBA officials being the invertebrates that they are, they caved.
“The crowd keeps looking at it over and over. They’re hyping it up and it plays in the mind a little bit,” Horford said later. “At the end of the day, it’s the ref’s decision.”
It was a bad decision. Horford admitted he lost his cool but didn’t believe he should be ejected.
Horford deserved to be called for a more significant foul than Dellavedova (who was given a technical). He was upset because he had just been taken down and believed Dellavedova went after his legs. Horford admitted there also was some lingering resentment over Korver’s injury because it was the same Cavs’ player who landed on Korver, leading his high ankle sprain. Horford responded with an elbow into Dellavedova in the high shoulder area.
“He can be careless at times,” Horford said of Dellavedova. He stopped short of calling him dirty.
Dellavedova was asked about Horford’s contention that the Cavs’ guard has a “track record” for careless plays that injury opponents. His response: “I would obviously disagree with that. I was boxing him out, and you can see from the baseline view that he’s pulling my left arm down.”
James also had a problem with some of the questions in the postgame.
“In Game 2, when (Pero) Antic two‑hand shoves me out of the air — the fact that I’m still playing, we don’t talk about it,” he said. “So what are we really talking about? Are we going to talk about us trying to win basketball games or about those guys trying to figure out a way that Matthew Dellavedova is this type of ‑‑ this guy, he works his tail off every single day. If they’re focused on Delly, then they’re focused on the wrong thing.”
Ken Mauer, the game’s crew chief, said Horford was given a Flagrant 2 because, “He made contact above the shoulders, to the shoulder and head area, of Dellavedova.”
The 1980s NBA laughs at him. The call perfectly illustrated both how dreadful NBA officiating has become and how soft the league is.
Horford's sister, Anna, Tweeted: "THIS IS BULL****. IM DISGUSTED. @NBA YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED."
The league will review the call Monday to determine if Horford also will be forced to sit out Game 4 of the series Tuesday night. A one-game suspension would be like absurdity squared. He and his this team deserve to go out with heads held high.
About the Author
