The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-111 on Thursday at State Farm Arena behind Onyeka Okongwu’s 29 points and 12 rebounds. Atlanta erased an early 12-point deficit to stay unbeaten at home; Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 25 points.
James Harden led Cleveland with 24 points and Donovan Mitchell added 22, but the Cavaliers fell to 3-2 after leading by as many as 15 points in the first quarter.
Key Moments And How Atlanta Turned It Around
Cleveland built its early cushion on hot shooting from Sam Merrill, who hit three first-half three-pointers, and a barrage of James Harden drives that pushed the lead to 28-16 after the first quarter. The Cavaliers stretched the margin further early in the second quarter before Atlanta began chipping away.
Okongwu scored on a running layup to tie the game at 37-37 with 4:33 left in the second quarter, part of a stretch in which the Hawks outscored Cleveland 14-4 to close the half within two possessions. Atlanta carried that momentum into the third quarter, outscoring the Cavaliers 43-29 in the period to flip a halftime deficit into a lead the Hawks would not fully relinquish.
Atlanta finished with 15 fast-break points to Cleveland’s four and out-rebounded the Cavaliers 53-45, including a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass that helped offset a 9-11 turnover disadvantage in the box score.
Top Performers
Okongwu’s night was the best of any player on either side. He shot 11-for-17 from the field, including 4-for-6 from three-point range, to finish with 29 points, 12 rebounds, five offensive boards and a block in 33 minutes. Alexander-Walker went 8-for-17 overall and 4-for-12 from deep for his 25 points.
Jalen Johnson contributed 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Atlanta, while CJ McCollum managed just five points on 1-for-8 shooting but dished a team-high eight assists.
For Cleveland, Harden finished 7-for-14 from the field with seven assists, and Mitchell added 22 points on 7-for-19 shooting. Jarrett Allen recorded eight rebounds and 14 points, and Mario Hezonja came off the bench for 10 points in 17 minutes. The Cavaliers shot 44% from the field and 31% from three, numbers nearly identical to Atlanta’s 44% overall shooting, but the Hawks hit 40% of their threes compared to Cleveland’s 31%.
What It Means
The win pulls Atlanta to 3-3 and within half a game of first place Charlotte in the Southeast Division, according to the official standings. The Hawks have now won back-to-back games after dropping three of their first four this season.
Cleveland slips to 3-2 and one game behind division leader Detroit in the Central Standings. The Cavaliers had won three of their first four games before Thursday’s loss. Atlanta also took a 1-0 lead in the season series between the two clubs.
What’s Next
Both teams now turn to their next outings on the schedule, with Atlanta looking to build on its win streak and Cleveland looking to bounce back after dropping a game it led by 15 points.
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