Game ID: 22300595
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Atlanta Hawks
Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 7:30 PM ET
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
ATL 20 25 25 25 95CLE 25 34 34 23 116
ATL vs CLE ScoutingATL vs CLE Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
ATL availability going into 1/13 · back-to-backOUT Hunter missed 10 since 12/22, out tonight
OUT Krejčí missed 9 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Mathews missed 2 since 1/10, returns tonight: 15 min (103% of 15)
OUT Gueye missed 33 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Bufkin missed 33 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Matthews missed 2 since 1/10, out tonight
BACK Forrest back 1/03 after 2, 17 min since (153% of 11)
BACK Mills back 1/10 after 3, 10 min since (98% of 11)
ATL availability going into 1/15 · 1 day's restOUT Hunter missed 11 since 12/22, out tonight
OUT Krejčí missed 10 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Gueye missed 34 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Bufkin missed 34 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Matthews missed 3 since 1/10, out tonight
BACK Mathews back 1/13 after 2, 15 min since (103% of 15)
BACK Mills back 1/10 after 3, 10 min since (98% of 11)
NEW Forrest 11 to 16 min over the last 4
ATL availability going into 1/17 · 1 day's restOUT Hunter missed 12 since 12/22, out tonight
OUT Krejčí missed 11 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Gueye missed 35 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Bufkin missed 35 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Matthews missed 4 since 1/10, out tonight
OUT Mills missed 2 since 1/13, out tonight
BACK Mathews back 1/13 after 2, 14 min since (95% of 15)
NEW Forrest 11 to 16 min over the last 4
ATL availability going into 1/19 · 1 day's restOUT Hunter missed 13 since 12/22, out tonight
OUT Krejčí missed 12 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Fernando missed 2 since 1/15, out tonight
OUT Gueye missed 36 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Bufkin missed 36 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Matthews missed 5 since 1/10, out tonight
OUT Mills missed 3 since 1/13, returns tonight: 18 min (170% of 11)
BACK Mathews back 1/13 after 2, 14 min since (94% of 15)
NEW Forrest 11 to 16 min over the last 4
ATL availability going into 1/20 · back-to-backOUT Hunter missed 14 since 12/22, out tonight
OUT Krejčí missed 13 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Fernando missed 3 since 1/15, returns tonight: 3 min (21% of 15)
OUT Gueye missed 37 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Bufkin missed 37 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Matthews missed 6 since 1/10, out tonight
BACK Mathews back 1/13 after 2, 16 min since (103% of 15)
BACK Mills back 1/19 after 3, 18 min since (170% of 11)
ATL availability going into 1/22 · 1 day's restOUT Hunter missed 15 since 12/22, out tonight
OUT Krejčí missed 14 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Gueye missed 38 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Bufkin missed 38 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Matthews missed 7 since 1/10, out tonight
BACK Fernando back 1/20 after 3, 3 min since (21% of 15)
BACK Mathews back 1/13 after 2, 15 min since (102% of 15)
BACK Mills back 1/19 after 3, 14 min since (133% of 11)
ATL availability going into 1/24 · 1 day's restOUT Hunter missed 16 since 12/22, out tonight
OUT Krejčí missed 15 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Gueye missed 39 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Bufkin missed 39 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Matthews missed 8 since 1/10, out tonight
BACK Fernando back 1/20 after 3, 3 min since (21% of 15)
BACK Mills back 1/19 after 3, 15 min since (139% of 11)
ATL availability going into 1/26 · 1 day's restOUT Young missed 2 since 1/22, returns tonight: 33 min (92% of 36)
OUT Hunter missed 17 since 12/22, out tonight
OUT Krejčí missed 16 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Fernando missed 2 since 1/22, out tonight
OUT Gueye missed 40 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Bufkin missed 40 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Matthews missed 9 since 1/10, out tonight
BACK Mills back 1/19 after 3, 16 min since (155% of 11)
ATL availability going into 1/28 · 1 day's restOUT Hunter missed 18 since 12/22, out tonight
OUT Krejčí missed 17 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Fernando missed 3 since 1/22, out tonight
OUT Gueye missed 41 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Bufkin missed 41 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Matthews missed 10 since 1/10, out tonight
BACK Young back 1/26 after 2, 33 min since (92% of 36)
BACK Mills back 1/19 after 3, 14 min since (134% of 11)
CLE availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 10 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 14 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 12/29 after 4, 31 min since (86% of 36)
BACK Merrill back 12/29 after 2, 22 min since (129% of 17)
CLE availability going into 1/11 · 3 days' restOUT Garland missed 11 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 15 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 12/29 after 4, 32 min since (90% of 36)
BACK Merrill back 12/29 after 2, 22 min since (130% of 17)
CLE availability going into 1/15 · 3 days' restOUT Garland missed 12 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 16 since 12/08, out tonight
NEW Merrill 17 to 25 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/17 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 13 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 17 since 12/08, out tonight
OUT Porter Jr. missed 2 since 1/11, returns tonight: 20 min (157% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 26 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/20 · 2 days' restOUT Garland missed 14 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 18 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 1/17 after 2, 20 min since (157% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 25 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/22 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 15 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 19 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 1/17 after 2, 20 min since (160% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 25 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/24 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 16 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 20 since 12/08, out tonight
OUT LeVert missed 2 since 1/20, returns tonight: 28 min (99% of 28)
BACK Porter Jr. back 1/17 after 2, 21 min since (164% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 27 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/26 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 17 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 21 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK LeVert back 1/24 after 2, 28 min since (99% of 28)
BACK Porter Jr. back 1/17 after 2, 16 min since (126% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Thompson 11 to 17 min over the last 4
CLE availability going into 1/29 · 2 days' restOUT Garland missed 18 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 22 since 12/08, returns tonight: 21 min (66% of 32)
OUT Thompson missed 2 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK LeVert back 1/24 after 2, 26 min since (92% of 28)
BACK Porter Jr. back 1/17 after 2, 16 min since (126% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 25 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 113, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Young at 22 and Murray at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Hunter (14 straight), Krejčí (13 straight), Fernando (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 99, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Allen at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Garland (14 straight), Eva. Mobley (18 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-11 a night and Atlanta minus-3 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 99 a night to Atlanta's 113. Call it Cleveland 117, Atlanta 109.
1/13 vs WAS 99-127 — ATL notes
ATL lost 99-127. ATL shot 34% (32 of 93) to WAS's 48%, 11 of 40 from three, and went to the line 33 times to WAS's 26 — 24 points from the stripe to their 21. Young led with 21 (6 of 19, 2 of 10 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Bey added 16, Bogdanović 14. Q4 was theirs, 28-28, but the other 3 periods went 99-71 against them. Young's -23 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/15 vs SAS 109-99 — ATL notes
ATL won 109-99. ATL shot 43% (40 of 93) to SAS's 40%, 13 of 38 from three. The glass went 57-44 for them. Young led with 36 (11 of 24, 6 of 11 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); J. Johnson added 16, Murray 13. The hinge was Q1, 35-16: from level to 19 ahead, and the lead reached 35. Mathews was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
1/17 vs ORL 106-104 — ATL notes
ATL won 106-104. ATL shot 51% (39 of 76) to ORL's 44%, 8 of 25 from three. ATL turned it over 23 times to ORL's 13, and ORL turned those into 16 steals. Murray led with 26 (11 of 18, 1 of 4 from three); Young added 18, Okongwu 15. The hinge was Q3, 29-25: ATL came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 2. ATL trailed 49-51 at the half and won the second half 57-53. Johnson was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
1/19 @ MIA 109-108 — ATL notes
ATL won 109-108. ATL shot 46% (40 of 87) to MIA's 46%, 15 of 35 from three. Murray led with 22 (9 of 22, 3 of 7 from three); Bogdanović added 17, Johnson 15. The hinge was Q1, 32-24: from level to 8 ahead. Okongwu was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
1/20 vs CLE 95-116 — ATL notes
ATL lost 95-116. ATL took 8 more shots (93 to 85), fed by 11 offensive rebounds, but shot 40% to CLE's 51%, 11 of 38 from three. Murray led with 24 (10 of 19, 2 of 7 from three); Johnson added 20, Young 15. Q4 was theirs, 25-23, the deficit cut from 23 to 21, but the other 3 periods went 93-70 against them. Bey's -24 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/22 @ SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 120, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Fox at 26 and Sabonis at 20 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Mitchell (3 straight). 3 days' rest. Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 111, shooting 43 percent and 33 from three, 22 free throws a game; Young at 22 and Murray at 20 a game. Without Hunter (15 straight), Krejčí (14 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the defense, Atlanta allowing 111 a night to Sacramento's 120 and the turnovers, Atlanta giving it away 15 times a game to Sacramento's 12. Call it Sacramento 119, Atlanta 114.
1/24 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 130, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 17 free throws a game; Thompson at 20 and Kuminga at 19 a game. Without Paul (5 straight), Moody (3 straight), Payton II (7 straight). 8 days' rest. Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 110, shooting 43 percent and 35 from three, 20 free throws a game; Murray at 24 and Young at 23 a game. Without Hunter (16 straight), Krejčí (15 straight). One day's rest.
So: Golden State wins, and the game turns on the defense, Atlanta allowing 110 a night to Golden State's 130 and the turnovers, Atlanta giving it away 15 times a game to Golden State's 11. Call it Golden State 118, Atlanta 117, Atlanta keeping it close.
1/26 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 117, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 21 free throws a game; Murray at 26 and Bogdanović at 16 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Young (2 straight), Hunter (17 straight), Krejčí (16 straight). One day's rest. Dallas comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 123, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 21 free throws a game; Dončić at 33 and Irving at 28 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the defense, Atlanta allowing 117 a night to Dallas's 123. Call it Atlanta 118, Dallas 116, Dallas keeping it close.
1/28 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 126, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Murray at 25 and Johnson at 18 a game. That is 4 straight losses. Without Hunter (18 straight), Krejčí (17 straight), Fernando (3 straight). One day's rest. Toronto comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 21 free throws a game; Barrett at 23 and Barnes at 21 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Poeltl (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the defense, Toronto allowing 115 a night to Atlanta's 126. Call it Atlanta 118, Toronto 117, Toronto keeping it close.
1/07 vs SAS 117-115 — CLE notes
CLE won 117-115. CLE shot 49% (43 of 88) to SAS's 48%, 16 of 43 from three. CLE turned it over 16 times to SAS's 11, and SAS turned those into 10 steals. Allen led with 29 (11 of 19, 7 of 7 at the line); LeVert added 23, Merrill 18. The hinge was Q2, 34-24: CLE came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 6, and the lead reached 16. Niang was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
1/11 vs BKN 111-102 — CLE notes
CLE won 111-102. CLE shot 39% (32 of 82) to BKN's 45%, 13 of 44 from three, and went to the line 43 times to BKN's 28 — 34 points from the stripe to their 20. CLE turned it over 11 times to BKN's 16. Mitchell led with 45 (15 of 30, 4 of 12 from three, 11 of 13 at the line); LeVert added 21, Allen 12. The hinge was Q1, 26-16: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 26. Mitchell was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
1/15 vs CHI 109-91 — CLE notes
CLE won 109-91. CLE shot 41% (39 of 95) to CHI's 42%, 20 of 57 from three. CLE turned it over 11 times to CHI's 18. Mitchell led with 34 (11 of 21, 4 of 10 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); LeVert added 16, Merrill 15. The hinge was Q1, 40-21: from level to 19 ahead. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +32.
1/17 vs MIL 135-95 — CLE notes
CLE won 135-95. CLE shot 59% (55 of 93) to MIL's 40%, 12 of 28 from three, and went to the line 19 times to MIL's 10 — 13 points from the stripe to their 7. The glass went 55-36 for them. Niang led with 33 (13 of 14, 5 of 6 from three); Mitchell added 31, Allen 21. The hinge was Q3, 42-26: a lead of 25 became 41, and the lead reached 47. Wade was the night's best plus/minus at +40.
1/20 @ ATL 116-95 — CLE notes
CLE won 116-95. CLE shot 51% (43 of 85) to ATL's 40%, 16 of 43 from three. Mitchell led with 18 (6 of 17, 0 of 6 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Merrill added 18, Wade 17. The hinge was Q2, 34-25: a lead of 5 became 14, and the lead reached 27. Okoro was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
1/22 @ ORL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 105, shooting 46 percent and 29 from three, 24 free throws a game; Banchero at 20 and Carter Jr. at 19 a game. Without Gar. Harris (9 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 100, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and Allen at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Garland (15 straight), Eva. Mobley (19 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Cleveland at 36 percent from three to Orlando's 29 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-8 a night and Orlando plus-2. Call it Cleveland 111, Orlando 107, Orlando keeping it close.
1/24 @ MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 129, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 28 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 30 and Lillard at 27 a game. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 96, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Niang at 15 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Garland (16 straight), Eva. Mobley (20 straight), LeVert (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 96 a night to Milwaukee's 129 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-8 a night and Milwaukee minus-0. Call it Cleveland 120, Milwaukee 115.
1/26 @ MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 128, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 31 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 31 and Lillard at 27 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 17 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Merrill at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Garland (17 straight), Eva. Mobley (21 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 101 a night to Milwaukee's 128 and the line, where Milwaukee takes 31 free throws a game to Cleveland's 17. Call it Cleveland 119, Milwaukee 117, Milwaukee keeping it close.
1/29 vs LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 103, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Allen at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Garland (18 straight), Eva. Mobley (22 straight). 2 days' rest. The Clippers come in 5-0 over their last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 110, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; George at 21 and Leonard at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Zubac (6 straight), Tucker (28 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 103 a night to the Clippers' 110. Call it Cleveland 115, the Clippers 113, the Clippers keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
GN G. Niang
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
MS M. Strus
PN P. Nance
SM S. Merrill
TT T. Thompson
ATLAG A. Griffin
BB B. Bogdanović
BF B. Fernando
BO Bogdanovic
CC C. Capela
DM D. Murray
GM G. Mathews
JJ J. Johnson
OO O. Okongwu
PM P. Mills
SB S. Bey
SL S. Lundy
TF T. Forrest
TY T. Young
CLE/ATL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Cavs extend NBA's longest win streak to seven with balanced 116-95 win over Hawks
ATLANTA -- — Donovan Mitchell had 18 points and eight assists to lead a balanced attack as the Cleveland Cavaliers extended the NBA's longest current win streak to seven games with a 116-95 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.
Jarrett Allen had 14 points and 11 rebounds, while seven Cavaliers scored in double figures. Sam Merrill had 18 points with five 3-pointers. Dean Wade scored 17 and Georges Niang had 14.
The Cavs scored the first 10 points of the game and never trailed in holding the Hawks to a season-low in points and beating Atlanta for the third time in three games this season.
“If you come out and set the tone defensively, and let them know it is not going to be easy, you can put yourself in position where they are chasing you all night,” said Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “In the NBA, runs happen, but you’d rather be playing from in front than trying to play back into the game.”
Cleveland led 15-4 midway through the first quarter against the NBA's fourth-highest scoring team.
“We have an intent and purpose to start basketball games. It is a complete buy-in to be elite defensively,” Bickerstaff said. “You are doing something special if you are containing a team like that in the first quarter.”
Cleveland extended a 14-point halftime lead by outscoring the Hawks 34-25 in the third quarter. Atlanta ranks near the bottom of the league in third-quarter net rating.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Hawks.
“We’ve been mercurial. We’ve had moments we’ve found things that are successful in games and we’ve gotten away from them,” said Hawks coach Quin Snyder. “We were a different team in the three games previous than we were tonight.”
The Hawks did not return from a road game at Miami until 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
Trae Young left the game with 8:43 remaining after taking a charge from Isaac Okoro . Young was hit in the face by an inadvertent elbow, stayed on the court for a few minutes and walked back to the locker room with the Hawks trailing by 25. He did not return after scoring 15 points.
Young was questionable with an illness a night after sitting out the Hawks’ win over the Heat.
Dejounte Murray , who hit last-second, game-winning shots for the Hawks in their previous two games, led Atlanta with 24 points. He also had nine rebounds and five assists. Jalen Johnson added 20 points and seven rebounds.
The Cavaliers improved to 12-3 since starters Darius Garland and Evan Mobley were both injured. Against the Hawks, guard Caris LaVert (16 ppg) missed the game with a score wrist.
Cleveland's Pete Nance, whose father, Larry Nance Sr., starred for the Cavaliers, made his NBA debut in the final two minutes. He did not score.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: Visit the Magic on Monday night in the second game of a four-game road trip.