Cavs have no answers for Trae Young and Atlanta Hawks, lose first home game of season, 135-124

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 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.

“Give them a tremendous amount of credit. They played great,” Atkinson said. “They shot the heck out of it. It started with their pace. The first place we leaked was in transition, and we knew that coming in. Our communication has got to be better, our physicality has got to be better. I thought it was better in the second half, but by that time they were rolling.”

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.

“We did a good job on the scoring part, but we told the guys before he’s most dangerous with playmaking,” Atkinson said of Young. “He controlled the tempo of the game. Was phenomenal.”

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.

“We’ve just got to play our brand of basketball, which starts with the defensive end which leads to the offensive end,” Garland said. “As soon as we get back to that we’ll be fine. We’re still fine though. We’re 17-2 or 18-2 or something like that. We’re in great shape.”

In all, Atlanta had 37 points in the decisive fourth. It scored the most points of any team against the Cavs this season.

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, who were once again without three rotational regulars — Caris LeVert (knee injury management), Dean Wade (sprained ankle) and Max Strus (sprained ankle) — had found their defensive edge 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.

“There’s always a big focus. Try to keep that the main thing,” Mobley said in response to a question about the team’s defensive slippage. “That’s always been our main identity, and I feel like we’ve got to just keep locking in on that part. I feel like that’s the biggest thing that kind of gets us in the positions that we get in. It’s still early. We’ve got time. We’re going to fix it.”

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.