Arthur Moats fined for facemask on Johnny Manziel, is not James Harrison
November 21, 2015Michigan State Shocks Ohio State in Columbus, 17-14
November 22, 2015Atlanta Hawks (9-6) 97
Cleveland Cavaliers (10-3) 109
Box Score
A confident Cleveland Cavaliers side jumped all over the Atlanta Hawks in the first half and kept them at arm’s length in the second, using a combination of offensive ball movement and defensive industry to coast to a 109-97 victory. It was the Cavs’ second impressive home win in as many games after back-to-back road losses. They were even more undermanned than usual, with starting center Timofey Mozgov joining Mo Williams, Iman Shumpert, and Kyrie Irving in street clothes. It didn’t matter against Atlanta. The Cavs are now a perfect 7-0 at home and 10-3 overall.
A Jeff Teague three-pointer gave Atlanta a 17-16 lead with 4:52 to play in the first quarter. That would be their last lead of the night. The Cavs went on a 16-0 run into the second quarter, capped off by back-to-back threes from Richard Jefferson and J.R. Smith. The Cavaliers moved the ball well on offense and secured the lane on defense, consistently generating cleaner looks than their opponents. Atlanta head coach Mike Budenholzer was ejected midway through the second quarter for bumping referee Ben Taylor, which did well to summarize the Hawks’ frustration. Coach Bud was arguing that Justin Holiday was hit in the face on his way to the hoop, but to no avail.
“I didn’t get a lot [of explanation],” Budenholzer said of his ejection after the game. “I tried to get more. [Taylor] threw me out, and that’s his prerogative. I’m sure we’ll learn more going forward.”
Point guard Dennis Schröder, one of the visitors’ two most dangerous penetrators, played only 16 minutes due to foul trouble. Their other point man, Jeff Teague, was listed as questionable before the game after suffering an ankle injury against the Boston Celtics on November 13; Saturday was his first game back in action since. Both guards had good moments getting into the lane, but they couldn’t generate enough open shots for their teammates. Only three Hawks hit at least 50 percent of their shots: Thabo Sefelosha (6-12), Tiago Splitter (2-2), and Mike Scott (1-1).
The Cavs built their advantage without much scoring from LeBron James. He didn’t make a dent in the point column until he converted a layup midway through the second period; he added a three shortly thereafter. The Cavs played egalitarian basketball from the jump, assisting on six of their first seven baskets. J.R. Smith hit his first two threes, Kevin Love had it going inside and out, and bit players like Jared Cunningham and Anderson Varejao chipped in as well. Tristan Thompson was a menace on the glass and hounded Paul Millsap and Al Horford inside. Matthew Dellavedova played a turnover-less 28 minutes and finished with a game-high +27 plus/minus rating.
Cleveland’s effort level slipped for stretches in the second half, but the result was never in real danger. The Cavs came out of the gate with a Kevin Love-fueled 13-4 run, extending a 57-42 lead to 70-46. The Hawks climbed their way to a 77-64 deficit by the end of the third — thanks in part to several silly turnovers on the Cavs’ part — but even the most spirited Atlanta response couldn’t get them within shouting distance.
It was a fine, balanced effort from the Cavaliers. Let us take a look at the numbers.
51 to 38 — The Cavs battered the Hawks on the boards, outrebounding them by 13. Tristan Thompson (16), Kevin Love (11), and LeBron James (11) all finished with at least 10 rebounds. Eleven of the Cavs’ rebounds came on the offensive end, with Thompson alone chasing down six. Tristan was as active as ever, and tied a career high with five assists. Thompson and Love largely controlled the paint, and Atlanta didn’t have the size or athleticism to truly trouble them.
44 & 17 — In a related story, the Cavs scored a whole bunch inside. They finished with 44 points in the paint and 17 second-chance points. They dominated Atlanta inside in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals; it seems little has changed.
11-of-35 — Kyle Korver (4-of-10), Al Horford (4-of-12), and Paul Millsap (3-of-13) all shot poorly for Atlanta. Some of that was just bad luck and missing open shots, but much of the credit goes to the Cavs defenders. J.R. Smith played 38 minutes, shadowing Korver for many of them, and he did a good job of staying attached to Atlanta’s sharpshooter; both David Blatt and Tristan Thompson mentioned Smith’s defense after the game.1 Horford and Millsap, meanwhile, just couldn’t get it going. Love and Thompson contested most every look inside, and neither Horford or Millsap could hit from the perimeter.
25 & 11 — Kevin Love played a marvelous game, scoring a season-high 25 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in 31 minutes. He was at the center of much of the Cavs’ ball movement, doing work from inside and out. The Cavs’ offensive attack felt varied, especially in the first half. There weren’t many instance of stale post-ups or isolation play. They were attacking from different angles and through different approaches, forcing little.
19, 11 & 8 — After scoring just five points in the first half, LeBron finished two assists shy of a triple-double: 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists, including a full-court flick to Kevin Love for a dunk. Standard stuff from No. 23.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MyKGXTmeq8
6 in 5 — James Jones knocked down two threes off the bench, finishing with six points in five minutes of play. It was that kind of night for the Cavaliers — and for the Hawks. The Cavs will look to extend their mini-winning streak against Orlando at the Q Monday night.
- Thompson: “I think it started with J.R. playing physical on Korver”; Blatt: “J.R. Smith — again — played a terrific defensive game. This is not his first. He did a great job defensively.” [↩]
6 Comments
Easily the Cavaliers best game of the season. I expected them to have trouble missing four players but instead they rallied as a team and reminded Atlanta who their daddy was! Great win on what was other a bad day in Ohio for sports. Thank goodness the Cleveland football team doesn’t play tomorrow.
For the first few minutes the teams were doppelgangers, both playing the currently hip San Antone style. But to do that you gotta sustain your precision, you gotta box out and you gotta gotta hit your threes. Saw that in the last week Atlanta lost to both Brooklyn(!) and New Orleans. Not sure what the hell Horford was doing last night and wonder whether their lack of passion maybe reflects their missing DeMarre Carroll more than anticipated.
It’s really clear that Tristan is deep in that team’s head, and Tristan knows it. He was all Tigger-bouncy and bullying and even making fancy passes from the interior.
the Atlanta announcing team was whining all night. Yes, the calls went Cleveland’s way most of the night, but they even out at some point. And they never gave an explanation as to why Bud was tossed, though I can see it clearly on the video. He’ll be fined.
Kevin Love had his best game in a Cavs uniform. I’ve been looking for this guy since last year. Forget the numbers, which are good, but he was engaged, aggressive and showed a desire on both ends of the floor I had yet to see.
If he plays with that type of fire consistently the Cavs will be a monster.
I listen to games on SiriusXM while I’m at the gym, so I sometimes hear the other team’s announcers, and Atlanta’s are easily the most hardcore homers and the biggest whiners I’ve encountered. A few others have actually been a real pleasure to listen to. It’s interesting to hear what they say about the Cavs
There were a few missed calls on both sides, but the reality is the Hawks were physically over-matched inside. That leads to reach-in fouls.
I was super impressed with Jared Cunningham’s on-ball defense. He still has a lot to work on, (and that’s with him shooting about as well as ever in his career, which still isn’t great) but man that guy is hard to slip. One of the best pick-and-roll defenders on the team.