Game Summary
The Cavaliers (31-22) hit the road to round out their four-game season series with the Atlanta Hawks (17-38) on Friday night. Tipoff from Philips Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET).
The Wine & Gold are heading into their upcoming three-game road trip confident after topping the Minnesota Timberwolves, 140-138, in a thrilling overtime duel on Wednesday at The Q.
Cavs Visit Hawks
From where to catch all the action to Friday's game notes, Cavs.com has you covered.
FOX Sports Ohio
WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 FM La Mega
Joe G.'s guide to a victory.
Learn more about Friday's matchup.
Join Wine & Gold Nation and get into the convo.
In the win, LeBron James took it upon himself to seal the deal after he hit the game-winning shot as time expired in overtime. It was his fifth career game-winning buzzer beater (1/23/09 at GSW, 5/22/09 vs. ORL, 5/22/13 vs. IND, 5/10/15 vs. CHI) and 20th career game winning basket in the final 20 seconds of a fourth quarter or overtime (regular and postseason, FTM and FGM).
As a whole, the Cavaliers set a season-high in points (140) and field goal percentage (.591, 52-88), while dishing out 33 assists. The Wine & Gold’s 140 points were the most points scored by the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena (prev. 137, 11/23/16 vs. POR).
Cleveland also connected on a season-high 21 three-pointers (21-41, .512) against the Timberwolves, which was the second time this season they knocked down at least 20 triples.
Heading into the contest with the Hawks, JR Smith has now made at least three, three-pointers in five of the last seven games (since January 26), shooting a combined .462 (24-52) from long range and averaging 13.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 30.0 minutes over that stretch.
Tristan Thompson has also been on a roll after he set season-highs in scoring in each of the last two games. Over that span, he is averaging 14.5 points (.722 FG%, 13-18 FG) and 7.0 rebounds in 28.0 minutes.
As the Cavs prepare to close out the season series with the Hawks on a strong note, Atlanta will be looking to stretch their mini win streak into three games by the time the final whistle blows.
Despite what their record shows, the Hawks have been turning things up these past couple weeks, winning their past two of three. One of the key contributing factors to their recent success has been their balanced bench play.
The Hawks reserves have been stepping up in a huge way, especially in their last matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies. In their win over the Grizzlies on Tuesday night, Atlanta saw three reserve players score in double digits with John Collins leading the way with 16 points. This depth, along with their starting backcourt duo of Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore, will be geared up to host a limited Cavs roster following Thursday's Trade Deadline despite not being able to top the Orlando Magic last night.
When the Deadline dust settled, the Cavaliers parted ways with Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder, Iman Shumpert and Derrick Rose and added Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., George Hill and Rodney Hood. The newly acquired Cavs are not expected to play in Friday's matchup in the ATL.
Where to Catch the Action
TV: FOX Sports Ohio
Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 La Mega
Programming Note: On Friday, FOX Sports Ohio is airing the Blue Jackets – Capitals game (7:00 p.m.) and the Cavs – Hawks game (7:30 p.m.). To view TV listings, CLICK HERE.
For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike and @chones22 on Twitter.
Probable Starters/Status Update*
#81 - Jose Calderon
#5 - JR Smith
#16 - Cedi Osman
#23 - LeBron James
#13 - Tristan Thompson
G
G
F
F
C
#17 - Dennis Schroder
#24 - Kent Bazemore
#12 - Taurean Prince
#7 - Ersan Ilyasova
#18 - Miles Plumlee
Status Update: (Cavs) - Kevin Love, (Left hand fracture, Out)
Status Update: (Hawks) - DeAndre' Bembry, (Left adductor strain, Out), Tyler Cavanaugh, (Right ankle sprain, Out)
*Subject to change.
Head-to-Head Matchup
As mentioned, this is the final time the Cavaliers and Hawks will do battle this regular season.
The Cavaliers have won the last two meetings against the Hawks and lead the season series 2-1. In the three games against Atlanta this season, Cleveland is averaging 119.7 points on .502 shooting from the field, .425 (48-113) from three-point range and .817 from the foul line. They’ve also dished out 30.7 assists and made an average of 16.0 threes versus the Hawks in 2017-18.
It seems that Cleveland likes playing the Hawks on the road after topping them twice this season at Philips Arena. In fact, Cleveland is 7-1 in their last eight visits (including playoffs) at Philips Arena, which includes a 121-114 win on November 30.
Overall, the Wine & Gold are 10-3 against Southeast Division opponents this season, including the Hawks.
On Deck
Following Friday's matchup with the Hawks, the Cavs will head up to Boston to battle the Celtics on Sunday for a 3:30 p.m. (ET) matinee contest at TD Garden. The Wine & Gold will then round out their three-game road trip on Tuesday in Oklahoma City as they take on the Thunder heading into the All-Star Break.