By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Cleveland Cavaliers continued to frustrate the Atlanta Hawks after overpowering them, 137-115, during their Eastern Conference matchup in the ongoing NBA regular season on January 31, 2025.
With another defeat, the Hawks failed to get out of their slump and lost their seventh consecutive game, while Cleveland racked up back-to-back wins in three days.
Now healthy after an inconsistent rotation with the absence of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen during their past games, the Cavaliers didn’t give Atlanta any room to breathe and scored a wire-to-wire dub.
A massive scoring avalanche from Cleveland opened the first quarter with a lopsided affair, as the home team put up 39 points that left the Hawks behind.
Darius Garland provided the much-needed scoring punch in the first and was then picked up by Mobley who feasted inside the interior of Atlanta.
The Hawks are still missing the services of their primary center, Clint Capela, who is currently dealing with a back injury. Due to his absence in the main rotation, teams started to attack their shaded lane and abuse the mismatch.
Before taking on the Cavaliers, Atlanta gave up 112 points to their opponents per game, against the Celtics, Raptors, Knicks, Pistons, Houston, and Minnesota.
Those numbers weren’t really a shock as the well-oiled Cleveland machine dropped 137 points on them, built from 66 markers in the paint and 13 drained three-pointers.
Not known as a consistent defensive team, the Hawks were schooled by Cleveland’s crisp offensive execution. Proof is the efficient 53/91 shooting from the field by the whole Cavaliers mob.
It was all Cleveland in the second half as they continued to attack and pummel their way inside, backstopped by Donovan Mitchell who got hot from downtown in the one-sided third quarter.
Garland led the Cavaliers in scoring as he sprayed 26 points built from 11/20 shooting from the field in just 30 minutes of action.
Mitchell recovered from a slow start and delivered 24 markers, six assists, a rebound, and a steal, while Mobley chipped in a double-double performance of 16 points and 10 boards.
The Cavaliers will have a badly needed two-day rest before returning to the NBA hardwood against the Dallas Mavericks on February 3, 2025. Meanwhile, Atlanta will look to regroup and snap its dry spell on February 2, 2025, against the Indiana Pacers.
