It’s early but the Hawks sent the Cavaliers a message.
The new look might just make a difference.
The Hawks ended an 11-game losing streak to the Cavaliers, which included two postseason sweeps, with a 110-106 victory Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. They handed the Cavaliers their first defeat of the season.
The Hawks did it with rebounding. They held a 50-39 advantage on the boards – a statistics that has been their doom in recent history against the Cavaliers. Dwight Howard, the new addition, finished with 17 rebounds to support four double-digit scorers.
Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with a career-high 28 points. Kent Bazemore added 25 points, including five 3-pointers, Paul Millsap had 21 and Mike Muscala had 10. Bazemore iced the game with a corner 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds remaining.
For the second straight game, Howard was not on the floor in the closing minutes after he missed two free throws.
The Hawks (5-2)led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter. However, the Cavaliers rallied to pull within two points, 81-79, in the final seconds of the period. Bazemore was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 0.9 seconds left and made all three attempts. It started a 15-2 run to push the Hawks advantage back to 15 points, 96-81.
The Cavaliers weren’t about to go away. Another rally got them to within three points, 98-95, with under four minutes to play. Bazemore answered with a 3-pointers and Schroder scored five straight points after a LeBron James layup.
The Cavaliers (6-1) were led by Kyrie Irving with a game-high 29 points. James finished with 23 points after scoring just two first-half points.
The Cavaliers entered the game as the NBA leader in 3-point shooting with a total of 80 and an average of 13.3 per game. They finished just 11 of 41 from long range, including 4 of 21 in the first half. Three came in the final quarter.
The last time the Hawks played in this building the watched the Cavaliers set an NBA record, regular or postseason, with 25 3-pointers in a Game 2 victory of the Eastern Conference semifinal series in May.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game he hoped the rim protection and inside presence of Howard who help their 3-point defense.
“Tonight will be a great test,” Budenholzer said before the game. “These guys are amazing at the 3-point line. It’s just such a big part of their offense. Usually it starts with taking away the paint, taking away the rim and they make you collapse. Then they are throwing it to guys who are open. Hopefully, if you feel like you have somebody who is elite at protecting the rim, protecting the paint, it will help you stay more connected to the 3’s. We’ll know more in a couple hours.”
The Hawks made it interesting in part by committing 19 turnovers to just six by the Cavaliers.
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