The Cleveland Cavaliers(11-6) continued their four-game homestand on Monday night against the Atlanta Hawks(10-7).
Behind Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Cedi Osman, the Cavs defeated the Hawks 114-102 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
With the win, Cleveland has now won three straight.
Here’s the Great, Not So Great, and the Bottom Line of the Cavs’ win over the Hawks.
Great:
Cavs, again were led by the backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. The two combined for 55 points and 18 assists; Mitchell and Garland both had nine assists. Mitchell had 29 points and Garland had 26. We knew this would be a prolific backcourt and two guys that would be tough to stop, and they were tough to stop on Monday night.
Cedi Osman scored a season-high 23 points off the bench on 8-for-10 shooting. Osman has been so good off the bench this season, and that continued against the Hawks. In the fourth, with the Cavs up six with just over four minutes left, Osman hit two free throws after a clear path foul was called on John Collins, and on the same possession, Osman would hit a dagger three to put the Cavs up 11.
Second-Half Defense: The Hawks shot 38 percent from the floor in the second half. Atlanta is in the top 10 in scoring, and the Cavs held them to 102 points. In addition, 10 of the Hawks’ 17 turnovers came in the second half.
Not So Great:
You can point to the turnovers. Cleveland tied a season-high with 20 turnovers on Monday night, and Garland was the biggest culprit with eight.
Bottom Line:
After losing five straight, Cleveland has righted their ship at home, and they are bringing the defensive energy that makes them go. They held the Hawks to 102 points on Monday and the Heat to 87 on Sunday night.
At this point, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a home-court advantage for the Cavs. They are 7-1 at home but have to be better on the road(4=5), and after this homestand, they will have three straight on the road.
What’s Next:
Cleveland concludes their four-game homestand on Wednesday night against the Blazers.
Best of the Rest:
Evan Mobley had 10 points, nine rebounds, and three assists; Jarrett Allen added eight points and 11 rebounds.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 25 points and 10 assists; Onyeka Okongwu had 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Cleveland was without Caris LeVert on Monday night, who missed his first game of the season with an ankle injury.
