39-23.
That was the spread in the third quarter of Friday's game, when the Atlanta Hawks took control of a close game and staked out a massive lead. While the Cleveland Cavaliers made multiple fourth-quarter pushes, they ultimately couldn't close the gap and lost the game 117-101.
For the second-straight game, the Cavaliers were cold from 3-point range, hitting just 28.9 percent of their 38 attempts, and they simultaneously allowed the Hawks to hit 41.2 percent of their long-range shots. The Hawks were moving on a string, with 33 assists on their 45 made baskets.
The Cavaliers lost big
The Cavaliers came out with a locked-in defensive game plan to take away the passes for Young, and got a number of early steals picking off passes. Then things began to shift, and after halftime the Cavs were stuck spinning in rotation as the Hawks made their way to an open shot.
Donovan Mitchell was abysmal all game long, shooting just 5-for-23 from the field and 2-for-10 from deep. He played hard, pulling down 11 rebounds and dishing six assists, but he couldn't make a shot and took a number of contested, low-percentage 3-pointers.
Darius Garland did his best, shooting 5-for-8 from deep en route to 29 points. Evan Mobley was dominant inside and had 24 points and 12 rebounds. Essentially everyone else in the rotation struggled, and against a Hawks team that should be a tier or two below them the Cavaliers were helpless to stop them.
Trae Young had 21 points and 11 assists for the Hawks, while De'Andre Hunter came off the bench with a 23-point night.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, the loss was more than just a negative tick in the loss column, taking them from 17-2 to 17-3. This game was also an NBA Cup contest, and with the loss the Cavaliers have sealed their fate. Two of their three losses all season have come in the Cup, and now the best they can finish is 2-2. Meanwhile, the Hawks are sitting pretty to advance to the Knockout Stage after going 3-1.
Losing out on the NBA Cup is painful; given how well Cleveland was playing, it was not unreasonable to think that the Cavaliers had a shot at winning it all. Now they will be shuffled into the pool of losing teams, while the Hawks, Celtics or Bulls will move on.
In the bigger picture, the Cavaliers need to diagnose why they fell short against the Hawks two games in a row and improve in that area. If not, two losses could turn into more, and the year's surprise team may begin sliding down the standings.