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Wrap-Up -- As it had been in their first two contests of the season, the second quarter blues put the Cavaliers in a hole. But unlike those first two games, the third and fourth quarter were just as brutal.
After building up a 15-point edge in the first quarter, things began slipping away in the second – with the Hawks going off for 40 points to surge ahead at half. The beat went on after intermission and Trae Young put on a clinic that kept the Cavaliers winless – dropping the, 133-111, decision on Sunday night at The Q.
Young put on a historic performance – going off for 35 points and 11 assists in just the third game of his NBA career. The last rookie to post numbers like that was the player he’d been compared to heading into the Draft – Stephen Curry, back in 2010.
Cleveland came out on fire – shooting 58 percent through the first 12 minutes and taking a double-digit lead midway through the opening quarter. But by the four-minute mark of the second, Atlanta had tied the score.
The Hawks took a four-point lead into the locker room and never looked back in the second stanza – taking a three-touchdown lead when former North Royalton star Omari Spellman canned his third triple of the night late in the fourth quarter.
In Sunday’s loss, all five Cavalier starters notched double-figures and their leading scorer was a reserve.
Jordan Clarkson continued his early-season roll, leading the Wine & Gold with 19 points in 23 outstanding minutes off the bench – going 7-of-12 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from long-range, to go with three boards and a pair of assists.
Kevin Love doubled-up for the second straight contest – tallying 10 of his 16 points in the first quarter and following up his 19-rebound performance on Friday night with a 17-rebound effort against Atlanta. On the night, Love went 6-of-19 from the floor but just 1-of-8 from long-range, adding three assists and a steal.
George Hill added 16 points of his own, going 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from deep, adding three assists and a steal of his own.
Rodney Hood did all of his work in the third quarter – netting 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the period and adding three boards and three assists on the night overall.
Love drops 16 points in Cavs' loss to Hawks.
Cedi Osman followed his 22-point night on Friday with 12 points against Atlanta, struggling to find his rhythm on 5-for-15 shooting, adding three boards, four assists, a steal and a block.
On the negative side of the ledger, Cedi committed a team-high five miscues in the loss.
Tristan Thompson was the sixth Cavalier in double-figures, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go with nine boards and a block.
Trey Young wasn’t the only thorn in Cleveland’s side. Kent Bazemore finished with 23 points, going 4-of-8 from three-point range. Omari Spellman and DeAndre Bembry came off the bench to combine for 7-of-9 from deep.
On the night, the Hawks – who still haven’t played a home game – canned a franchise-record 22 three-pointers on the night, the first time in Cavs team history that they’ve allowed more than 20 bombs in a single contest.
The Hawks handed out 32 assists on 48 made buckets and forced Cleveland into 18 turnovers that they converted into 23 points.
Turning Point -- The story of the season for the Cavaliers has been their second quarter woes – with opponents averaging 37 points per in the period. This story has yet to produce a happy ending.
The Wine & Gold were in control through the first quarter and into the start of the second. But after Larry Nance’s layup put the Cavaliers up two touchdowns, 46-34, it was all Hawks for the rest of the half.
Atlanta would proceed to go on a 20-6 run from that point on, erasing Cleveland’s advantage by the 4:06 mark of the second quarter and took its final lead of the game just over two minutes later.
The Hawks didn’t look back in the second half.
By the Numbers – 17 … double-doubles Kevin Love has posted in 23 career meetings against Atlanta.
Quotable – Kevin Love, on Cleveland’s struggles over the final three quarters on Sunday night …
"We had a good thing going that first quarter, and then we just couldn’t defend the perimeter. Our switches weren’t there, our coverages weren’t there for the next three quarters and they were just free stroking out there. We didn’t run our schemes when the guy was covering for the other man. So it wasn’t a good outing for us and on the offensive end, we had nothing going."
Up Next -- After dropping the home opener on Sunday night, the Wine & Gold welcome the Nets for the first half of a mid-week back-to-back on Wednesday at The Q. The following night, it’s off to Motown for a matchup with the Pistons at Little Caesar’s Arena. On Saturday night, Cleveland welcomes another Central Division rival as the Pacers make their first regular season appearance on Saturday night before the Hawks return next Tuesday to close out the month of October.