The Cleveland Cavaliers appeared to be falling back into past habits against the Atlanta Hawks as they fell behind by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, and trailed by twelve at the half in Atlanta.
The battered Cavaliers appeared to be on the verge of dropping their third game in a row after a three-game winning streak to start the season before a funny thing happened- the high-scoring Hawks began to miss some shots and the Cavaliers, like a golfer grinding out pars for 60 holes and suddenly finding themselves in a position to win a tournament on the final day, began to work their way back into the game.
Cleveland finally took the lead, pushed back against a Hawks run that tied the game with under one minute remaining, and grabbed the lead back for good when Collin Sexton stepped back and drilled a three-pointer in the Cavaliers 96-91 win.
Collin Sexton led Cleveland with 27 points with JaVale McGee scoring 14 points off the bench as the top supporting scorer.
Cleveland travels to Orlando for games on Monday and Wednesday against the Magic.
Swashbucklings
1) Collin Sexton took this game over in the fourth quarter as the best player on the floor from either team. Sexton scored 14 points of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and he hit jumpers as well as drove the lane to show the value of Sexton's improved outside shot since his rookie year.
2) With Sexton's ability to beat his man off the dribble, the development of Sexton's outside shot has been key to making him a better-rounded player.
On the basket that put the Cavaliers on top, Sexton's ability to take his man to the hoop forced the defender to bite on the fake to the basket and allowed Sexton to step back for the three.
3) The Cavaliers looked more like the team from the first three games in the second half- working hard on defense and moving the ball around on offense.
If the Cavaliers have any chance of a successful season, it's going to come through effort and hustle that wears the opponent down- not through skill, but through making the opponent expend so much energy trying to keep the Cavaliers off of them that they allow Cleveland to stay in games that they shouldn't be in.
4) With the various injuries that the team is dealing with currently, each player hit the team in a different area.
Kevin Love hits the offensive game, Isaac Okoro affects the defensive end of the floor, Kevin Porter costs an athletic scorer that can play multiple positions, and Dylan Windler the spot shooter that this lineup still needs.
How long can the Cavaliers overachieve without these players and can they keep things afloat until they all return?
I'm doubtful that this can keep going for that long, but one never knows.
5) The Hawks entered the game leading the league in scoring at 125 points a game, yet against Cleveland, they only posted 91.
Atlanta was on the second half of back to back games and was vulnerable to a close game late, but still to take a strong offensive team and turn the tap off on them is quite a feat.
6) Darius Garland finished with only eight points with a miserable three for fourteen shooting night, but Garland did help out with Atlanta's explosive scoring Trae Young, as Young was held to sixteen points on the game. Young entered the game averaging close to thirty points per game, so that's quite an achievement.
7) JaVale McGee continues his strong play off the bench with 14 points and nine rebounds and he is playing with the type of energy that makes you remember his days in Washington when he was a reliable 12 and 10 player.
McGee's signing might prove to be the quietest yet quality free agent signing of the season.
8) Cleveland has been starting a three-guard lineup with Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, and Dante Exum and while this does give them three ballhandlers, it does make them vulnerable to size, especially on the wing and it's not a strong defensive unit either.
Once teams figure that out, I wonder how long J.B. Bickerstaff will stick with that starting trio.
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