MIAMI, NOV 28 – Eastern Conference leaders, the Cleveland Cavaliers suffered their first loss at home this season with a surprising 135-124 decision to the Atlanta Hawks yesterday.
Cleveland’s second loss of the season came after a stellar second half by Atlanta, with De’Andre Hunter scoring 26 points off the bench, Jalen Johnson adding 22 points and Trae Young contributing 20 points with a career-high 22 assists.
Young sealed the victory for the Hawks with a 39-foot three-pointer that made it 129-122 with 1 minute, 43 seconds left, just seconds after he was fouled after losing the ball.
Johnson said assist Young’s contribution was instrumental in the win and he deserves more credit for his role in the team.
“In reality, he’s getting better in the game and looking for every opportunity, a lot of people don’t necessarily talk about him even though he leads the league in assists, but they don’t talk about him as an offensive coordinator,” Johnson said.
The win moved the Hawks to an 8-11 record for the season and Young said the team has shown its true potential.
“They’re a really good team that’s played really well all year and I think we’ve been a little inconsistent, but when we play well, we play really well,” Young said.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points for Cleveland and Evan Mobley contributed 22 points and 12 reboundbut the Cavaliers missed out on becoming the first team to start the season with an 18-1 record.
Serbian Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to a convincing 122-103 victory at the Utah Jazz with 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. – AFP
