Cavaliers tough out win vs. Hawks
CLEVELAND Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said before Game 1 that the Atlanta Hawks had his team’s attention.
He seemed earnest when he said it. After Game 1, there’s no doubt it’s true.
What looked like an easy Cavs victory in the making for nearly three quarters turned into a tight game in the fourth with Cleveland scratching out a 104-93 victory in the Eastern Conference semifinals series opener between the teams.
LeBron James had 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and Tristan Thompson had 14 rebounds, seven of those offensive.
“When teams play great defense for 24 seconds and he comes up with those rebounds, it’s just demoralizing to a team because they have to come out and guard us again,” Lue said.
The Hawks erased an 18-point third-quarter deficit and took their first lead of the game 80-79 on Al Horford’s alley-oop dunk with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.
A combination of Kryie Irving baskets, a J.R. Smith three-pointer, free throws by Thompson and Kevin Love and a late three-point play by James propelled the Cavaliers to a victory that was much harder than it should have been.
“We just kept our composure,” James said. “Our coach and our coaching staff are very even keel, and we just try to stay in the moment. We were able to do that.”
It was 72-54 Cavs with 3:56 left in the third quarter. Cleveland was rolling as James had just dunked on a fast break after a Love three-pointer.
And the Hawks were struggling, shooting 32.8% from the field, including 25% on threepointers. Kyle Korver was scoreless, and Horford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague were a combined 8-for-32 from the field.
“The way our guys competed really for the whole night was what we need,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Going forward, I think we can play better. … From Game 1, we’ll learn a lot, (and) we’ll be better going forward on both ends.”
Then the Cavs’ shooting turned cold, and they were sloppy with the basketball. But when they needed points and stops, they got them, leading to a 1-0 series lead. Game 2 is Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, TNT).
Irving had 21 points for Cleveland, Love had 17 (finishing 4for-17 from the field) and 11 rebounds, and Smith had 12 points, all on threes.
Hawks backup guard Dennis Schroder scored a game-high 27 points. Kent Bazemore had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Millsap had 17 points and 13 rebounds.