CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Cavaliers’ three-game winning streak ended Thursday night, Oct. 29, in a 114-111 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Cleveland twice pulled within one point in the final minute, the second time on a Donovan Mitchell basket with 21 seconds left, but could not complete the comeback.
Onyeka Okongwu led Atlanta with a season-high 29 points, going 11-for-17 from the field with four 3-pointers and a season-high 12 rebounds, according to the Beacon Journal. Nickeil Alexander-Walker sank two crucial free throws with 15.3 seconds remaining to hold off the Cavaliers, and Atlanta snapped its own three-game losing streak while extending its home winning streak against Cleveland to five games.
Cleveland controlled the game early. The Beacon Journal reported that the Cavaliers limited Atlanta to 23.8 percent shooting in the first quarter — the fewest points Atlanta has scored in a quarter this season, 16 — and took a 28-16 lead, then stretched it to 35-24 with 7:22 left in the first half. Atlanta answered with a 13-2 run to tie the game on an Okongwu runner with 4:33 left in the half.
The third quarter decided the night. Atlanta pushed its lead to 61-50 on an Alexander-Walker 3-pointer with 9:14 left in the period, and although Cleveland cut the margin to 83-82 behind nine third-quarter points from James Harden, the Hawks scored 43 points in the quarter and carried an 89-82 lead into the fourth, the Beacon Journal reported.
Atlanta led by 10 points with 4:34 remaining before Cleveland’s final push. Harden finished with a season-high 24 points for the Cavaliers and Mitchell added 22, according to the Beacon Journal, but the late rally fell one possession short.
The loss is a reminder of how thin Cleveland’s margin has been during its strong start: the Cavaliers built an 11-point first-half lead on the road, gave it back in one quarter, and spent the final minutes chasing a Hawks team that had lost three straight coming in.
What happens next: Cleveland moves on from the one-game trip to Atlanta with its three-game winning streak snapped, while the Hawks take a needed home win into their next game. The Cavaliers’ next test is to protect the leads their defense built early in this one — the first quarter showed they can still take a home crowd out of a game when the defense travels.
Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY