Atlanta Hawks Fall to Cavaliers, 109-97

The Atlanta Hawks fell flat on Saturday night in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, falling to the Cavaliers in Cleveland by a final score of 109-97.

The Atlanta Hawks kept the game close until the final two minutes of the first quarter, where Cleveland began to stretch their lead. Saturday’s game featured some controversial officiating, most noticeably the questionable ejection of Head Coach Mike Budenholzer after he was only assessed one technical foul. Replay shows that he may have bumped an official, but it probably did not warrant an ejection. The league will almost certainly review what occurred.

I could go on about how bad tonight’s officiating was: from Kevin Love hooking players and not getting a call, or how there are many questionable offensive fouls committed by the Atlanta Hawks, or how James can push off of a defender but the defender gets called for a foul, but that is expected when playing against the Cavaliers. The officiating always seems to go their way.

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Bad officiating is still not a valid excuse for the Atlanta Hawks poor play throughout the second, third and fourth quarters of the game. Tiago Splitter missed the second half with a hip injury to compound the Hawks’ troubles. The Cavaliers held a 59-42 lead going into the locker room at halftime, and would extend their lead significantly in the third quarter. The Atlanta Hawks only scored 4 points in a 6 minute period to begin the third quarter.

A run at the end of the third quarter reduced a once 26 point lead down to 17, featuring a 7-0 run by Kyle Korver and a two-point basket by Dennis Schroder with 4:30 left in the third. The Atlanta Hawks took some momentum into the fourth quarter, only trailing by 13. The Haks put together an 18-5 run to finish the 3rd. The Cavaliers went on a 7-0 run to begin the fourth quarter, bringing their lead back up to 21 points.

The Atlanta Hawks clawed back in the fourth some more, reducing the 21 point lead down to 14 points with 6:21 remaining in the game. Alas it was not enough, as the Cavaliers pushed the lead back to over 20 points. The only lead for the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday against the Cavaliers was at 17-16.

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Thabo Sefolosha was one of the few bright spots for the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. Sefolosha finished with 13 points on 6-12 shooting, and played excellent defense for most of the night. Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap both finished 14 points, while Jeff Teague added 13 points. Dennis Schroder started the game, but after 2 early fouls in the first quarter, Jeff Teague got the majority of the minutes at the point guard position. Justin Holiday also finished the game with a season high 9 points.

The Cavaliers utterly controlled the glass on Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks. Kevin Love finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, and Tristan Thompson recorded 16 rebounds on the night, including 6 offensive boards. Lebron James added 19 points on 8-15 shooting. Cavaliers out-rebounded the Hawks 51-38.

The Atlanta Hawks had quite a few defensive lapses throughout the night, allowing the Cavaliers second chance opportunities and open shots on the perimeter. J.R. Smith and James Jones pretty much could get any shot they wanted on the night.

It’s clear that until the Atlanta Hawks can truly match up with Cleveland’s physicality, the Cavaliers are the best team in the Eastern Conference. As I have mentioned, the Cavaliers held a clear advantage with some of the calls they were afforded during the game; but the Atlanta Hawks cannot let that effect how they play or let it get under their skin. It’s still admirable that they were able to at least put a couple of runs together in the second half.

Next: Atlanta Hawks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Preview

The Atlanta Hawks will want to forget this one quickly, as they return home for Tuesday’s match up against the Boston Celtics where Dikembe Mutombo‘s number is retired.

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