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East Semis: Game 1 Preview vs. Atlanta Hawks - May 2, 2016

Game Summary

The Cavaliers will take on the No. 4 seeded Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Monday night. Tipoff from Quicken Loans Arena is at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Cleveland advanced to the second round of the postseason for the 10th time in franchise history (1976, 1992, 1993, 2006-2010 and 2015) after a four-game sweep of the Detroit Pistons in the First Round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs.

Kyrie Irving

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
From where to catch all the action to Monday's game notes, cavs.com has you covered.

Tune into the NBA on TNT.

WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 FM La Mega

More stats about Game 1.

Get into the conversation with other die-hards.

Joe G. has your keys to victory.

Cleveland’s Game 4 win marked their 12th consecutive playoff win against the Pistons, which is tied for the longest playoff winning streak against a single opponent in NBA history (L.A. Lakers over the Seattle Supersonics, 12 straight playoffs wins from 4/23/80-5/14/89).

Atlanta advanced to the East Semis following their 104-92 victory in Game 6 against the Celtics in Boston. Paul Millsap had 17 points and eight rebounds, Al Horford and Kent Bazemore each added 15 points for the Hawks, who earned their first playoff series win over Boston since the St. Louis Hawks beat the Celtics in the 1958 Finals.

The Cavs matchup with the Hawks will be the third time the two teams will meet in the postseason (2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals and 2015 Eastern Conference Finals).

During the 2015-16 regular season, the Cavs went 3-0 against the Hawks. It was the first time since the 2004-05 season (4-0) the Cavaliers swept the Hawks in a regular season series.

Kevin Love has posted a double-double in all four playoff games and is one of only three players to record four consecutive double-doubles this postseason (Russell Westbrook and Dwight Howard). Love averaged 18.8 points and 12.0 rebounds in 35.8 minutes against the Pistons in the First Round. His 12.0 rebounds per game is the 4th-most rebounds per game this postseason.

Kyrie Irving has scored 20 points or more in each game of the 2016 Playoffs and is averaging a team-high 27.5 points (tied for 1st in playoffs), 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 37.8 minutes per contest. Irving has poured in a playoff-high tying 31 points on two separate occasions this postseason.

LeBron James has recorded a double-double in three of his four playoff games this postseason and is averaging 22.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, a team-high 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 41.3 minutes.

In six game this postseason, Paul Millsap led the Hawks in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.3 points to go along with 8.8 boards.

Where to Catch the Action

TVPre and Postgame: FOX Sports Ohio, Game: NBA on TNT

Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 La Mega

For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike and @chones22 on Twitter.

Probable Starters/Status Update* presented by  

#2 - Kyrie Irving

#5 - J.R. Smith

#23 - LeBron James

#0 - Kevin Love

#13 - Tristan Thompson

G

G

F

F

C

#0 - Jeff Teague

#26 - Kyle Korver

#24 - Kent Bazemore

#4 - Paul Millsap

#15 - Al Horford

Status Update: (Cavs) - None to Report

Status Update: (Hawks) - Tiago Splitter - (Right Hip Surgery, Out)

*Subject to change.

Fan Guide

Head-to-Head Matchup

The Cavs hold an 8-0 all-time postseason record against the Hawks, which includes a 4-0 sweep in the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals.

Over those eight playoff contests against Atlanta, the Cavs have won by an average of 15.6 points (101.0-85.4), while outrebounding the Hawks by 13.3 (48.3-35.0) boards per contest.

On Deck

The series continues on Wednesday night at The Q for Game 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET before heading to the ATL for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday. VIEW SERIES SCHEDULE