Remember me?
The Hawks would like to forget Kyle Korver after this night.
Korver came back to Atlanta and scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 123-107 victory over the Hawks on Friday night. Korver hit 7 of 13 3-pointers in the runaway victory.
Korver had 30 points in 32 minutes. He outscored LeBron James, who finished with 22 points as part of a triple-double, in 41 minutes. Well, that doesn’t happen very often.
Being the sharp-shooter that he is, Korver lamented some of his misses. He was 7 of 9 from 3-point range after three quarters.
“I missed some wide open ones at the end,” Korver said. “I was trying to take what the defense gave me but I tried to be aggressive.”
Korver hit four straight 3-pointers to end the third quarter, including one at the buzzer, as part of an 18-2 Cavaliers run that essentially put away the game. The 30 points were a season-high, besting the previous mark of 23 points. He was one point shy of his career-high 31 points, done twice in his second and third seasons in the NBA.
Korver played four-plus seasons with the Hawks and made 818 of his career 3-pointers with the team. He made the Eastern Conference All-Star team during the 2014-15 season, one of four starters to do so on the 60-win team.
“I had a lot of really good years here,” Korver said. “Professionally, probably my best were here. I’ve got a lot of friends in the city and the organization. But it wasn’t any added fuel for the game.”
Korver was 9 of 16 from the floor for the game and made all five free throws. He added three rebounds and two blocks. Korver made four straight free throws in one trip to the line after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Kent Bazemore. Korver also took the technical free throw after Bazemore was penalized for his reaction to the call.
“I’ve watched that for the first four years I was here,” Bazemore said. “He’s an elite shooter and they do a good job of getting him open. It’s good to see that they really looked for him. For a second there, they were just trying to get him shots, trying to get him shots. He’s a guy who put a ton of work into his craft … it’s good to see him throw it up there at his age. I’m happy for him.”
Korver, who turns 37 in March, was pressed into extended duty as the Cavaliers had just 10 available players after Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. Six players were dealt and the four received in return had not been cleared to play.
The Cavaliers must figure out a new rotation with a revamped roster. Head coach Tyronn Lue knows he can count on Korver going forward.
“If he makes like this, he’s OK,” Lue joked after the game.
About the Author
