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Wrap-Up – For the first time since Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the Cavaliers dropped a game – as Atlanta snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Wine and Gold, fighting off Cleveland’s furious late-game rally and hanging on for the 110-106 on Tuesday night at The Q.
The defeat marks Cleveland’s first loss of the season after rattling off six straight wins. But the Cavs definitely made the Hawks work for it.
Trailing by 15 points early in the fourth and by nine with 2:23 to play, the Wine and Gold – led by Kyrie Irving, who scored 11 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter – wouldn’t relent.
Kevin Love’s three-point play with 25 seconds to play cut Atlanta’s lead to just two, 108-106. But Kent Bazemore canned a long-jumper with six seconds to play on the Hawks’ final possession and Kyrie couldn’t squeeze off a three-pointer on the other end as the Cavaliers dropped their first game of the year.
As they’ve done all season, Cleveland’s Big Three excelled again on Tuesday night.
Coming off his first game of less than 20 points all season – and first since Game 2 of the 2016 Finals – on Saturday night in Philly, Kyrie returned with a vengeance against Atlanta, going 11-for-27 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the stripe, adding four assists and a block.
Irving did have his hands full with the Hawks’ new starter at the point �� Dennis Schroder – who went off for 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting, including 3-of-6 from long-range. Another big piece of the new-look Hawks – center Dwight Howard – led all rebounder with 17 boards.
Kevin Love led the Cavaliers with 12 boards to go with 24 points – his second straight double-double and fourth straight outing with at least 20 points. The three-time All-Star went 7-for-17 from the floor, adding three helpers and a pair of steals.
LeBron James added 23 points to go with nine boards, five assists and three steals in the loss. James finished 8-of-17 from the floor, including 2-of-5 from long-range.
LeBron James and Kevin Love tally double-doubles as the Wine and Gold stay unbeaten.
Overall, the Cavaliers – who came into the contest leading the NBA with 80 treys as well as 13.3 made threes per game – couldn’t get untracked from beyond the arc. On the night, Cleveland was just 11-of-42 from deep – with Love, Irving and J.R. Smith combining to go just 3-for-21 from home run range.
Channing Frye was one of the Cavaliers who did shoot the deep-ball pretty well – going 3-of-8 from deep to finish with 13 points and seven points in the loss.
The Wine and Gold committed only six turnovers on the night, but the Hawks out-rebounded Cleveland, 50-39, and shot 51 percent from the floor and 38 percent from beyond the arc to turn the tables and take the road victory.
Turning Point -- When the Cavaliers’ offense gets rolling, sometimes it’s best just to trade baskets to stay afloat. That was the case late in the third quarter for Atlanta – who saw a red-hot Cleveland squad cut their 18-point lead to just three, 79-76, with 46 second to play on Channing Frye’s second bomb of the quarter.
Kent Bazemore stopped the bleeding with a jumper, but J.R. Smith canned another trey on Cleveland’s next possession. But Bazemore was fouled on a three-point attempt at the third period buzzer.
The undrafted forward from Old Dominion calmly sank all free throws to quiet the crowd and give Atlanta a five-point edge heading into the fourth quarter. They’d start the fourth with a 10-2 run that would eventually give them all the breathing room they’d need.
By the Numbers – 854 … three-pointers that Channing Frye has hit over the course of his career – placing him third on the NBA’s all-time list of three-pointers hit by players 6-11 or taller. Frye will never catch that group’s leader, Dirk Nowitzki (1,705 and counting) but he’s got a shot to move into the second spot over Rasheed Wallace (1,086). Behind Frye on that list is Toni Kukoc (731) and Charlie Villanueva (716).
Quotable – Kevin Love, on Tuesday night’s loss …
”We’re playing (Atlanta) at home. We know they’re going to be gunning for us, especially after the history that we’ve had. So I don’t know if it’s a respect thing. We just didn’t play good enough basketball tonight.”
Up Next – The Cavaliers will practice in Independence on Wednesday before departing for the nation’s capital, where they’ll appear at the White House as World Champions. On Friday night, it’s a date with the Wizards on Friday night at the Verizon Center. They return home for a Sunday afternoon meeting with the Hornets at The Q followed by the Raptors first visit to Cleveland this season two nights later. Cleveland travels to Indy for the first time next Wednesday and close the week out with a home matchup with the Pistons.