Atlanta Hawks Beat Cleveland Cavaliers 124-116

Recap

While one game may not do much in the standings, it could do a lot for a team's momentum. Tonight the Hawks faced the ultra-long and athletic Cleveland Cavaliers without John Collins. The Hawks strung together four solid quarters and came out with a victory 124-116.

Coming into the game, the Cavs had the third-best defensive rating in the NBA. But as we've seen before this season, the Hawks offense was too much for their opponents. Trae Young went off for 41 points and 9 assists.

Hawks head coach Nate McMillan kept his rotation at nine players. Every player except for Clint Capela played well. 'The Swiss Bank' scored just 5 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in 31 minutes. To be fair, he had double-duty tonight with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, which is no small task. The Hawks shot 53.8% from the field and 42.4% from deep which lifted the team over the top.

The Cavs stingy defense struggled, but they stayed in the game thanks to an uncharacteristically good offensive night. Darius Garland scored 30 points and dropped 8 assists. Some of those dimes went to Kevin Love, who scored 21 points and knocked down five three-pointers.

“Trick ‘em, young man!”@dariusgarland22 is cookin’ on @BallySportsCLE! pic.twitter.com/4BxZ81O3Rg
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) February 16, 2022

Post-Game Interviews

Hawks head coach Nate McMillan called the Cavs a "really good team" before praising his locker room. "Our defense was solid from start to finish. I thought we got better with our pressure in that third and fourth quarter. I thought Kevin [Huerter] and De'Andre [Hunter], just really a team effort, but getting pressure on [Darius] Garland and just making it difficult for him."

McMillan was pleased with his team attacking the paint on offense. "That's always the game plan for us, is to not settle on the perimeter. Try to attack the paint, get into the penalty early. We was able to do that. When you are able to do that, then the defense has to relax a little. And we were able to then run our offense."

Trae Young is so good for the NBA #TrueToAtlanta pic.twitter.com/Z2V9rl8NNs
— Pat Benson (@Pat_Benson_Jr) February 15, 2022

Trae Young sat at the podium in a gray Adidas hoodie and backward Mitchell & Ness ballcap. The floor general was relaxed (and perhaps tired) after the monster performance.

Young said, "It's good that we finished off the break at home the right way. We got one more we got to take care of before the break. Like I said, just get a clear mind after break and come back and finish the season strong. So, it was big to get this one."

The Hawks play again tomorrow night in Orlando against the Magic. As always, we will have you covered with content all game day. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's AllHawks.com for breaking news, highlights, and analysis.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love laced up a pair of Nike Air Zoom G.T. Run shoes. The light-weight shoes are meant to keep big men mobile with plenty of cushioning.

With Darius Garland out for the season, Collin Sexton has usurped the role of starting point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sexton has emerged as one of the better guards in the stacked Eastern Conference.

It's no surprise that Trae Young was named to his second NBA All-Star Game. Even better, fans get to see the Atlanta Hawks point guard compete in the 3-Point Contest on Saturday night.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been able to compete for a top spot in the Eastern Conference and prioritize the development of their younger players. Rookie Evan Mobley has excelled in his starting role this season.

Since returning from a knee injury, Bogdan Bogdanovic has played well. In fact, he's thriving in his sixth man role.

The Cleveland Cavaliers recently traded for veteran shooting guard Caris Lavert. He is only going to make them more competitive through the final stretch of the season.

Stats

Hawks Leaders

Trae Young - 41 PTS, 9 AST

Danilo Gallinari - 25 PTS, 3 REB

De'Andre Hunter - 18 PTS, 2 REB

Cavs Leaders

Darius Garland - 30 PTS, 8 REB

Evan Mobley - 22 PTS, 10 REB

Kevin Love - 21 PTS, 7 REB

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