Bench thrives for new-look Cleveland
ATLANTA — Considering the Cavaliers had only seven regulars for Friday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, it was hard to get a sense of what they will look like when four new players acquired in three Thursday trades join them on the court.
But there was a feeling of looseness, a free-flowing pace to the offense. At times it moved at breakneck speed, with rookie Cedi Osman driving the lane with aggression bordering on recklessness.
There seemed no doubt that the departures of six Cavs, including ill-fitting point guard Isaiah Thomas, brought a sense of relief. But the short-handed Cavs had to work hard for nearly three quarters before putting away the Hawks 123-107 at Philips Arena.
The Cavs improved to 8-13 since Christmas with their fifth victory in their last eight games.
LeBron James turned in his second consecutive triple-double, his 10th of the season and 65th of his career with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 17 assists. The last tied his careerhigh he has reached three times, most recently Dec. 12 at home against the Hawks. James played 40 minutes before leaving with 1:52 to go.
Getting plenty of court time with James, Kyle Korver made 7 of 13 from 3-point range and finished with a season-high 30 points, two from tying his career-high.
The Cavs led 83-80 before Korver really got going, making his four 3s in the final 2:21 of the third quarter in a 14-0 Cleveland run to end the period.
Jeff Green contributed 24 points, and Osman scored a career-high 16 points and added six rebounds and five assists.
The Cavs have younger, more athletic players on the way. But the Cavs picked up the pace without them, outscoring the Hawks 26-18 on the fast break and 48-34 in the paint.
The Cavs’ three-man bench outscored the Hawks subs 57-40.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue played only seven men through three quarters, leaving two-way players Ante Zizic, John Holland and London Perrantes on the bench. Lue went to Holland to start the fourth and he played 14 minutes.
The trades brought in Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson from the Lakers, George Hill from the Kings and Rodney Hood from the Jazz. They arrived at the arena before the game but did not play because information from their physicals had to be exchanged with the respective teams.
Hill and Hood might not be able to participate in Saturday’s practice at Philips Arena because Iman Shumpert’s physical is not scheduled in Sacramento until Saturday. Also traded were Derrick Rose, Channing Frye, Jae Crowder and Dwyane Wade, who received an overwhelmingly warm welcome in his return to the Miami Heat on Friday.
Hawks fans in the upper deck resorted to high-schoolish chants to liven up the game during Cavs’ free-throw attempts. Among their taunts were “LeBron is Leaving,” “LeBron Will Trade You,” and “LeBron Don’t Love You.”