Cavs Vs Hawks: 5 Standout Stats From Game 2

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a position that they’ve haven’t been in for a while at the end of the Cavs Vs Hawks 94-82, Game 2 win. With two wins under their belts, the Cavs are now just six wins away from a championship that has eluded them since the franchise’s inception in 1970. The last time they were closer to a championship was in 2007 when the Cavaliers were up against the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. They were four wins away from a title then but were simply overmatched by the more polished, poised, and experienced Spurs team who easily swept the still growing Cavs at the time.

In this Eastern Conference Finals, it is the Atlanta Hawks who are finding themselves overmatched by the more focused and cohesive unit that is now being called by Cavs’ head coach David Blatt, no longer as The Big Three, but as “The One,” as in one unit. Clearly, the Cavs are playing like a single unit anchored by the single best player on the planet in LeBron James.

The Cavs were on a mission from the beginning with James being caught on camera in the first quarter with a scowl reminiscent of his demeanor in dismantling the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals where he had 45 Points, 15 Rebounds and 5 assists.

There’s still five games left in this best-of-seven series, but it might as well be two if the Atlanta doesn’t get its act together. How did the road team win again in the Cavs vs. Hawks Game 2? Let’s check out the stats!

1. LeBron James: 30 Points, 11 Assists, 9 Rebounds, 1 Block Another game, another milestone. James was the quintessential leader for the Cavs in orchestrating the blowout win against the team with the best record in the East. James had another game with 30+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists, an NBA-record 53^rd for his career, distancing himself further from his idol Michael Jordan who had 51 of these games. Furthermore, LeBron tied Jerry West for fourth place with 74 games of 30 or more points in a playoff game. He also passed Charles Oakley for 20^th most rebounds in the NBA playoffs with 1,451 for his career.

James was aggressive from the beginning, scoring 13 points in the first quarter. According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, nine of his 11 assists came in the second and third quarters. Those two quarters were a clinic on passing as the King fed his teammates with passes from the three-point line which they converted with one made three-point bomb after another. And this one was especially sweet.

2. Tristan Thompson: 7 Points, 16 Rebounds, 2 Blocks

That was a clean block, ref! There! I had to say it here ‘cause I was screaming at the refs when they called a foul on Thompson after he clearly had Kent Bazemore’s number.

Thompson should have had three blocks in this game instead of two. If the NBA can review triple-doubles and subtract a point, rebound, or assist from the stats if they see that the statistician made a mistake, why can’t they credit the block to Thompson? Credit the young man, however for not losing his cool by continuing to play his heart out, outworking and outhustling every Hawk in his vicinity. Oh, and he also kept LeBron from getting a triple-double by grabbing one rebound away from him. That’s about the only un-cool thing that Tristan did in this game.

3. CAVS: 47 Rebounds; HAWKS: 39 Rebounds

Led by the ever-energetic Thompson, the Cavs demolished the Hawks under the boards for the second straight game.

May 22, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) controls a rebound against Atlanta Hawks guard

(26) and forward

(6) during the first quarter in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Tristan had five offensive rebounds to his credit and he kept every opponent from getting more than seven. Next to Thompson, LeBron (9) did his job by doing what he’s had to do since Kevin Love went down with a season ending injury. Other Cavs contributed to the cause including Timofey Mozgov with seven in 25 minutes and, lo and behold, Matthew Dellavedova who had six. There was no denying the Cavs in the rebounding department as the team also outrebounded the Hawks in offensively 11-7. If they keep pounding the boards with ferocity like they did in the first two games, expect this series to be over in Cleveland in the next few days.

4. CAVS: 12-30 (40.0%) 3-Pt. FGs; HAWKS: 6-26 (23.1%) 3-Pt. FGs

Led by Iman Shumpert (4-6 three-point FGs), the Cavs’ shooters were on target for much of the night especially in the third quarter where they connected on six of their 12-made three-pointers.

At different points in the game, there was always a shooter knocking down a trifecta to bury the Hawks deeper and deeper with LeBron, at one-point, assisting on eight of the nine assists he had by the end of the third quarter. The team’s defense at the three-point line looks good based on the stats but the Cavs were really just fortunate that the Hawks missed plenty of open shots. Credit their strong defense from the start, however, basically disheartening the Hawks and keeping all-world three-point shooter Kyle Korver from scoring after the half.

Led by Iman Shumpert (4-6 three-point FGs), the Cavs’ shooters were on target for much of the night especially in the third quarter where they connected on six of their 12-made three-pointers.

5. CAVS: 16-26 Free-Throws; HAWKS: 10-13 Free-Throws

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The aggressiveness of a team down 0-1 was almost never seen the whole night from the Hawks and it was evident in their effort in getting to the line.

It was the Cavs who looked as if they were down in the series by being in attack mode from start to finish as they went to the line 26 times but making only 62%. Still, it gave Cleveland a six-point advantage, half of Atlanta’s 12-point deficit at the end of the game. And to think that the Hawks got two freebies when Thompson was called for the foul with a block on Bazemore. Sorry, I guess I’m still bitter over that one. James was the main culprit in getting to the line 11 times and making eight. Thompson also went to the line frequently but he missed six of his nine attempts. When you’re the aggressor, chances are huge that you’ll get most of the calls and that was evident in this game for the Cavs.

What stat do you think stood out from this game? Let us know in the comments section below!

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