The top team in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers, lost their first home game of the season on Wednesday night 135-124 to the Atlanta Hawks. With its excellent second-half play, Atlanta gave Cleveland just its second loss of the year and prevented the Cavs from moving to 18-1.
De’Andre Hunter had 26 off the bench for the Hawks, and Jalen Johnson had 22. Star guard Trae Young had a huge performance with 20 points and a career-high 22 assists. Young sealed the win with a three-pointer from 39 feet late in the fourth quarter, putting Atlanta up 129-122 with 1:43 remaining.
Johnson said of Young’s playmaking ability: “He was really getting off the ball and finding everyone. A lot of people don’t necessarily talk about him as a playmaker, even though he’s leading the league in assists.
The win brought the Atlanta record to 8-11 and underlined their potential against one of the best teams in the league.
“They are a really good team who have been playing well all year, and I feel we have been a little inconsistent. But when we’ve played well, we’ve played really well,” Young said after the victory.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 30 points, and Evan Mobley tallied a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds. However, that just was not enough as the Cavs simply could not control the onslaught in Atlanta during the second half.
Around the League
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