On Sunday, the Atlanta Hawks dropped Game 4 to the Boston Celtics 129-121 at home and now trail their first-round series 3-1.
Well, on Monday, they got some more bad news.
Hawks guard Dejounte Murray will miss Game 5 in Boston(Tuesday) as he was suspended one game without pay by the NBA for making inappropriate contact with and verbally abusing a game official, the league announced on Monday.
The incident occurred at the game’s conclusion as Murray was seen bumping referee Gediminas Petraitis.
In the series against the Celtics, Murray is averaging 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.
Atlanta would have a hard time beating the Celtics with Murray, and without him, it might be close to impossible, but anything can happen.
On Wednesday, the NBA announced the complete schedule for the first round of the playoffs, which begin on Saturday.
Below is the schedule:
WESTERN CONFERENCE
|
#1 Denver vs. West 8th Seed
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sun
|
4/16
|
West 8th
|
Denver
|
1
|
10:30PM
|
TNT
|
Wed
|
4/19
|
West 8th
|
Denver
|
2
|
10:00PM
|
TNT
|
Fri
|
4/21
|
Denver
|
West 8th
|
3
|
9:30PM
|
ESPN
|
Sun
|
4/23
|
Denver
|
West 8th
|
4
|
9:30PM
|
TNT
|
Tue
|
4/25
|
West 8th
|
Denver
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Thu
|
4/27
|
Denver
|
West 8th
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sat
|
4/29
|
West 8th
|
Denver
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TNT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#2 Memphis vs. #7 L.A. Lakers
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sun
|
4/16
|
L.A. Lakers
|
Memphis
|
1
|
3:00PM
|
ABC/R
|
Wed
|
4/19
|
L.A. Lakers
|
Memphis
|
2
|
7:30PM
|
TNT/R
|
Sat
|
4/22
|
Memphis
|
L.A. Lakers
|
3
|
10:00PM
|
ESPN
|
Mon
|
4/24
|
Memphis
|
L.A. Lakers
|
4
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Wed
|
4/26
|
L.A. Lakers
|
Memphis
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Fri
|
4/28
|
Memphis
|
L.A. Lakers
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sun
|
4/30
|
L.A. Lakers
|
Memphis
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3 Sacramento vs. #6 Golden State
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sat
|
4/15
|
Golden State
|
Sacramento
|
1
|
8:30PM
|
ABC
|
Mon
|
4/17
|
Golden State
|
Sacramento
|
2
|
10:00PM
|
TNT
|
Thu
|
4/20
|
Sacramento
|
Golden State
|
3
|
10:00PM
|
TNT
|
Sun
|
4/23
|
Sacramento
|
Golden State
|
4
|
3:30PM
|
ABC/R
|
Wed
|
4/26
|
Golden State
|
Sacramento
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Fri
|
4/28
|
Sacramento
|
Golden State
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sun
|
4/30
|
Golden State
|
Sacramento
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#4 Phoenix vs. #5 LA Clippers
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sun
|
4/16
|
LA Clippers
|
Phoenix
|
1
|
8:00PM
|
TNT
|
Tue
|
4/18
|
LA Clippers
|
Phoenix
|
2
|
10:00PM
|
TNT
|
Thu
|
4/20
|
Phoenix
|
LA Clippers
|
3
|
10:30PM
|
NBATV
|
Sat
|
4/22
|
Phoenix
|
LA Clippers
|
4
|
3:30PM
|
TNT
|
Tue
|
4/25
|
LA Clippers
|
Phoenix
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Thu
|
4/27
|
Phoenix
|
LA Clippers
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sat
|
4/29
|
LA Clippers
|
Phoenix
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TNT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EASTERN CONFERENCE
|
#1 Milwaukee vs. East 8th Seed
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sun
|
4/16
|
East 8th
|
Milwaukee
|
1
|
5:30PM
|
TNT
|
Wed
|
4/19
|
East 8th
|
Milwaukee
|
2
|
9:00PM
|
NBATV
|
Sat
|
4/22
|
Milwaukee
|
East 8th
|
3
|
7:30PM
|
ESPN/R
|
Mon
|
4/24
|
Milwaukee
|
East 8th
|
4
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Wed
|
4/26
|
East 8th
|
Milwaukee
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Fri
|
4/28
|
Milwaukee
|
East 8th
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sun
|
4/30
|
East 8th
|
Milwaukee
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#2 Boston vs. #7 Atlanta
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sat
|
4/15
|
Atlanta
|
Boston
|
1
|
3:30PM
|
ESPN
|
Tue
|
4/18
|
Atlanta
|
Boston
|
2
|
7:00PM
|
NBATV
|
Fri
|
4/21
|
Boston
|
Atlanta
|
3
|
7:00PM
|
ESPN
|
Sun
|
4/23
|
Boston
|
Atlanta
|
4
|
7:00PM
|
TNT
|
Tue
|
4/25
|
Atlanta
|
Boston
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Thu
|
4/27
|
Boston
|
Atlanta
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sat
|
4/29
|
Atlanta
|
Boston
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TNT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3 Philadelphia vs. #6 Brooklyn
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sat
|
4/15
|
Brooklyn
|
Philadelphia
|
1
|
1:00PM
|
ESPN
|
Mon
|
4/17
|
Brooklyn
|
Philadelphia
|
2
|
7:30PM
|
TNT
|
Thu
|
4/20
|
Philadelphia
|
Brooklyn
|
3
|
7:30PM
|
TNT/R
|
Sat
|
4/22
|
Philadelphia
|
Brooklyn
|
4
|
1:00PM
|
TNT
|
Mon
|
4/24
|
Brooklyn
|
Philadelphia
|
5
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Thu
|
4/27
|
Philadelphia
|
Brooklyn
|
6
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sat
|
4/29
|
Brooklyn
|
Philadelphia
|
7
|
TBD
|
TNT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#4 Cleveland vs. #5 New York
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sat
|
4/15
|
New York
|
Cleveland
|
1
|
6:00PM
|
ESPN/R
|
Tue
|
4/18
|
New York
|
Cleveland
|
2
|
7:30PM
|
TNT
|
Fri
|
4/21
|
Cleveland
|
New York
|
3
|
8:30PM
|
ABC/R
|
Sun
|
4/23
|
Cleveland
|
New York
|
4
|
1:00PM
|
ABC
|
Wed
|
4/26
|
New York
|
Cleveland
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Fri
|
4/28
|
Cleveland
|
New York
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sun
|
4/30
|
New York
|
Cleveland
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
The Cleveland Cavaliers went on the road Friday to battle the Atlanta Hawks on the second half of a back-to-back after falling to the Denver Nuggets 115-109 on Thursday night.
This was Atlanta’s first game after the All-Star Break and their first game following the firing of head coach Nate McMillan and the hiring of interim head coach Joe Prunty.
Well, Atlanta got the effort they wanted. Trae Young led the Hawks with 34 points and nine assists, and Dejounte Murray added 25 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists as the Hawks routed the Cavs 136-119.
The 136 points are the most points the Cavs have allowed this season.
Cleveland(38-25) has now lost three straight, and the Hawks(30-30) snapped a two-game losing streak.
Here’s The Great, Not So Great, and the Bottom Line of the Cavs’ loss to the Hawks.
The Great:
Darius Garland was the lone bright spot for the Cavs. He led Cleveland with 33 points, including four threes.
Not So Great:
First Half: Man, this wasn’t good. Cleveland allowed a season-high 81 points in the first half. In addition, the Hawks shot 64% from the field and made seven threes.
After allowing 32 points in the first quarter, Cleveland allowed a whopping 49 points in the second quarter, which was a season-high, and the Hawks shot 82%(18/22) from the field.
Dejounte Murray scored quarter 15 points in the quarter and was a perfect 7/7 from the field.
Atlanta had their largest lead of the game at 81-49 in the second quarter, and the game was pretty much spoken for as the Cavs trailed 81-57 at the break.
Donovan Mitchell: He was off on Friday night. He was 6/17 from the field, including 2/10 from deep. Mitchell finished with 19 points but was not much of a factor.
Bottom Line:
Cleveland just got blitzed in this one and could not stop Atlanta’s offense. On the second half of a back-to-back, you knew the Cavs’ energy might not be all the way there, but after their loss to the Nuggets, there should have been a much better effort. However, with an 82-game regular season, you won’t always be perfect.
Plus, a new coach usually means a big effort from the team, and the Hawks played well.
Not to minimize the loss, but the fourth-seeded Cavs will probably stay there(three games behind the third-seeded 76ers, 2.5 up on the fifth-seeded Nets), so this loss is not the end of the world.
With 19 games left, the focus is to get better and get ready for the playoffs.
What’s Next:
The Cavs return home to host the Raptors on Sunday night.
Best of the Rest:
Jarrett Allen had 14 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks; Evan Mobley added 13 points for the Cavs.
The Atlanta Hawks have fired head coach Nate McMillan, the team announced Tuesday.
Joe Prunty will serve as interim head coach. Prunty joined the Hawks in July 2021 as lead assistant and served as interim head coach for the Bucks in the 2017-18 season and in 2015-16.
Currently, the Hawks are a disappointing 29-30 record(8th in the Eastern Conference).
McMillan, 58, became the team’s interim head coach in the second half of the 2020-21 season after replacing Lloyd Pierce and led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals that season, and he was named the team’s permanent head coach that summer after signing a four-year deal.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, McMillan, and the Hawks were expected to part in the offseason, and the team is interested in former Jazz head coach Quin Snyder.
“I would like to thank Nate for his leadership and professionalism during his time with the Hawks,” Hawks GM Landry Fields said in a statement. “He is truly a class act, and we appreciate the graciousness and work ethic he brought with him every day. Decisions like these, especially in-season, are always extremely difficult, but we believe it’s in the best interest of our team to move forward with another voice leading the way.”
Over 19 seasons as a head coach, McMillan has compiled a 760-668 record (.532) with the Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers, Indiana Pacers, and Hawks. His 760 wins rank 18th on the all-time wins list for NBA coaches.
In December, Hawks President of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk stepped down and took an advisory role with the team. In January, Kyle Korver was promoted to assistant general manager, and now, they make a coaching move.
The Dallas Mavericks have signed forward Justin Holiday, the team announced Wednesday.
Holiday, 33, was acquired by Atlanta on July 6, 2022, via a trade with the Sacramento Kings. He has appeared in 28 games for the Hawks this season, averaging 4.5 points in 14.7 minutes of action.
Recently, the Atlanta Hawks dealt Holiday to the Houston Rockets; the nine-year veteran and the Rockets agreed to a buyout, and the team waived him.
Holiday holds career averages of 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 24.1 minutes over 604 games (285 starts) with Philadelphia, Golden State, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Memphis, Indiana, and Sacramento.
He has shot 36.4% (1,009-2,770 3FG) from beyond the arc and 82.0% (536-654 FT) from the free throw line in his career. Holiday has appeared in 28 games for the Hawks in 2022-23 and averaged 4.5 points in 14.7 minutes.
Holiday has two younger brothers currently in the NBA: Aaron, a guard for the Atlanta Hawks, and Jrue, an All-Star guard for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Atlanta Hawks announced on Monday that Kyle Korver has been promoted to the position of assistant general manager.
The 41-year-old Korver joined the Hawks in July 2022 as director of player affairs & development.
Recently, Travis Schlenk stepped down as Hawks President of Basketball Operations and took on an advisory role with the team, and Landry Fields was promoted to GM.
“Kyle has brought a great perspective and voice to our group after seamlessly making the transition from playing to coaching to the front office,” said General Manager Landry Fields in a press release to announce the move. “Moving forward, I’m excited to have him even more involved with the day-to-day management and direction of our basketball operations group.”
Korver, who spent the 2021-22 season as a player development assistant with the Brooklyn Nets, played in 332 regular season games over four-and-a-half seasons (2012-17) with the Hawks, including an All-Star appearance in 2015.
“Having played in Atlanta for almost five years, I have a love for the city and the Hawks franchise,” Korver said. “I’d like to thank Landry for this opportunity. I am grateful and excited to draw from my experiences playing and working in the NBA over the last 20 years to add to our front office,”
He appeared in 1,232 career regular season games (and 145 playoff contests) in 17 seasons with Philadelphia, Utah, Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland and Milwaukee. He ranks fifth in NBA history in three-pointers made (2,450) and seventh in career three-point percentage (.429), including the best single-season mark in league history (.536 in 2009-10 with the Jazz). Korver is the only player to ever lead the league in three-point percentage four times.
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.
The Atlanta Hawks that they have signed rookie Tyrese Martin(No. 51 overall pick this year’s draft) to a multi-year contract, the team announced Saturday.
Through four NBA Summer League games for the Hawks, the 23-year-old Martin is averaging 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 24.2 minutes (.475 FG%). He poured in a game-high 21 points on 9-14 shooting from the floor in Atlanta’s 95-88 win over Miami on July 12.
Atlanta acquired Martin’s draft rights, along with cash considerations, from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for the draft rights to Ryan Rollins, the No. 44 pick, on June 23.
Martin saw action in 29 games (all starts) for UConn during the 2021-22 campaign, tallying 13.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 32.1 minutes (.449 FG%, .430 3FG%, .689 FT%).
The 6-6 guard transferred to UConn following a two-year stint at Rhode Island (2018-20). In his two seasons suiting up for UConn, the Huskies made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2021, 2022), punching their ticket in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2011 and 2012. During his time at UConn, Martin appeared in 51 games (50 starts), averaging 12.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 31.2 minutes (.446 FG%, .393 3FG%, .682 FT%). He was named to the 2022 Big East All-Tournament Team and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association District I All-District Team.
Throughout his four-year collegiate career, Martin saw action in 114 games (99 starts), notching 11.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 30.8 minutes.
The Atlanta Hawks signed free agent center Frank Kaminsky, the team announced Tuesday.
According to ESPNs Adrian Wojnarowski, it’s a one-year deal.
Kaminsky, 29, joins the Hawks from the Phoenix Suns, where he saw action in nine games during the 2021-22 campaign, tallying 10.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 20.1 minutes (.545 FG%, .333 3FG%, .900 FT%).
Drafted with the ninth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, Kaminsky has appeared in 377 games (49 starts) throughout his career, notching 9.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 21.0 minutes (.429 FG%, .348 3FG%, .743 FT%). He has also seen action in 17 postseason contests (five starts), including 10 appearances in the Suns’ run to the 2021 NBA Finals, averaging 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15.2 minutes.
The seven-year NBA veteran has suited up for the Charlotte Hornets (2015-19) and Phoenix Suns (2019-22), posting 171 double digit scoring outings. Kaminsky played for Team USA in the 2017 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, netting a team-high 33 points on 12-16 shooting from the floor, including a 9-13 clip from three-point territory, in 20 minutes as a reserve.
The Atlanta Hawks acquired guard Justin Holiday, forward Maurice Harkless, and a future first-round pick in exchange for guard Kevin Huerter, the team announced Wednesday.
Holiday, who Sacramento acquired on February 8 in a trade with the Indiana Pacers, appeared in 74 total games during the 2021-22 season (65 starts), averaging 10.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 27.8 minutes.
In nine NBA seasons, the 33-year-old Holiday has appeared in 576 games (285 starts), tallying 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 24.6 minutes.
Holiday’s younger brother, Aaron, was recently signed by the Atlanta Hawks, while his older brother, Jrue, is a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Harkless, 29, appeared in 47 games (24 starts) for the Kings during the 2021-22 season, notching 4.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18.4 minutes.
The 10-year veteran has appeared in 621 games (372 starts), averaging 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 22.6 minutes
“In acquiring Justin and Moe, we add two defensive-minded, quality veterans who can help our team on the court and in the locker room,” said Hawks President of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk via a press release announcing the move. “We would like to thank Kevin for his contributions, both on and off the court. He grew as a player and person in his four seasons with us, and we wish him the best in Sacramento.”
Last season, Huerter averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per contest for Atlanta.
In four seasons in Atlanta, the 23-year-old Huerter appeared in 274 games (216 starts), averaging 11.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 29.6 minutes.
Huerter’s biggest moment with the Hawks was in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in Atlanta’s Game 7 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on June 20, 2021; he poured in 27 points on 10-18 shooting from the field, including a 2-4 clip from deep, in addition to seven rebounds, three assists and one steal in 40 minutes of play.
Hawks add another Holiday
In another move, the Hawks signed guard Aaron Holiday.
According to reports, it’s a one-year deal.
Last season with the Suns, Holiday appeared in 22 games (one start), averaging 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 16.3 minutes
Phoenix acquired the 25-year-old on February 10 in a trade with the Washington Wizards. In total, the 6-0 guard saw action in 63 games (15 starts) during the 2021-22 season, notching 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 16.2 minutes of play (.447 FG%, .379 3FG%, .868 FT%). His .447 field goal percentage marked a career-high clip from the floor.
Drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Holiday has appeared in 245 games (56 starts) over his four-year career, owning averages of 7.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 18.2 minutes.
Hawks deal Landale to Phoenix
Also, on Wednesday, the Hawks completed a trade with the Phoenix Suns. Atlanta received cash considerations in exchange for center Jock Landale. Landale was acquired on June 30 in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs that sent Dejounte Murray to Atlanta.
As a rookie, the 26-year-old played in 54 games with San Antonio in 2021-22, averaging 4.9 points on 49.5% from the field and 82.9% from the free throw line plus 2.6 rebounds in 10.9 minutes. The Australian native had 10 games scoring in double figures including a career-high 26 points, making 12-of-15 field goals, on March 12 vs. Indiana.
