CLEVELAND, Ohio — It was going to happen eventually. Wednesday was the night.
The Cavs dropped their first game at home this season, losing to the Atlanta Hawks, 135-124, in front of a sellout crowd on Thanksgiving Eve.
Cleveland entered the night riding a 10-game home winning streak. It had a chance to become the fifth team in NBA history to start 18-1 or better.
Early on, it looked like the Cavs would join that rarefied air.
They opened the game on an energetic 10-0 run and increased the lead to 19 around the midway point of the first quarter, limiting high-powered Atlanta to just eight points over the first seven minutes, showing the kind of defensive intensity coach Kenny Atkinson has been demanding the last few weeks. But the Cavs couldn’t sustain it, and the Hawks’ bench provided a needed spark, outscoring Cleveland 27-8 in the final five minutes of the first to even the score at 35 apiece.
The game was played within three possessions for most of the final three quarters — until the Hawks increased their lead to 11 with 13 seconds remaining following a Jalen Johnson dunk, the exclamation point to Atlanta’s comeback.
Cavs star Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 30 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter. Evan Mobley added 22 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, five steals and three blocks in 37 minutes. Darius Garland chipped in with 19 points and seven assists. Jarrett Allen recorded another double-double, tallying 17 points and 10 boards.
Offense wasn’t the issue.
The Hawks, who made 20 3-pointers on the night, were led by De’Andre Hunter who erupted for 26 points on 9 of 16 shooting and 5 of 9 from 3-point range off the bench. All-Star point guard Trae Young had his fingerprints all over the Hawks’ victory, finishing with 20 points and 22 assists.
While the Hawks took a three-point lead into the fourth quarter, the Cavs quickly erased that deficit, opening the fourth by scoring the first five. As Mitchell’s corner 3 dropped through the net, fans rose to their feet and Hawks coach Quin Snyder called timeout while Mitchell signaled the fans to keep roaring.
Snyder’s seen those Mitchell theatrics before. He used to be on the other end of them alongside Mitchell in Utah.
But the Hawks kept their composure in the face of Cleveland’s fourth-quarter push, soaring ahead once again around the seven-minute mark and dissecting the Cavaliers’ defense for the duration of the final quarter.
In all, Atlanta had 37 points in the decisive fourth.
Atkinson continues to reiterate that he wants Cleveland to be a defense-first team — even with the league’s No. 1-ranked offense. It seemed like the Cavs had found their edge at that end earlier this week. But they were answerless against the Young-led Hawks Wednesday night, showing they still have plenty of things to clean up amidst a magical start to the season.
Up next
The Cavs will travel to Atlanta on Friday for a matinee matchup with the Hawks. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m.