The Cavaliers dropped their second consecutive game on Tuesday, but they didn’t do so without a fight.
The Atlanta Hawks, possessing the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, had difficulties putting away the Cavaliers even though they were without LeBron James and Shawn Marion, who were nursing injuries.
Atlanta pushed the lead to 17 two minutes into the third quarter and a sold-out Philips Arena erupted, sensing this was the dagger.
“We just had to persevere and stay the course,” the Cavs’ Tristan Thompson said. “We were confident all the way through.”
Cleveland didn’t hit home runs; they went for singles, walks and slowly chipped away at the lead. Guard Kyrie Irving took up the bulk of the scoring load, putting in 22 of his game-high 35 points in the second half.
“I have no choice [but to score],” Irving said. “With guys going down and injuries happening within an NBA season, I’ve just got be aggressive.”
The Cavs’ bench players came up big, outscoring their counterparts 35-29. To get back in the game, it took a team effort, and head coach David Blatt went 10 deep. It didn’t help that Kevin Love left the game and would not return due to back spasms with 2:12 left in the third quarter.
Now Cleveland was without James, Marion and Love. On Tuesday morning, James called the Hawks the San Antonio Spurs of the Eastern Conference. This was beginning to turn into mission impossible for the Cavaliers.
“We kept fighting until the end,” said Irving.
James Jones knocked down a baseline three to trim the deficit to two with 4:31 remaining in the game. Love and James were cheering from the locker room. That’s when Atlanta’s Paul Millsap had enough, scoring 10 of his team-high 26 points in the final five minutes.
The Cavaliers ran out of gas.
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