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Hawks use dominant 3rd quarter to rout Cavs

Dec 18, 2014 - 5:04 AM Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - A third-quarter onslaught Wednesday night might've helped the Atlanta Hawks silence some doubters.

Shelvin Mack hit six 3-pointers and netted 24 points off the bench as the Hawks routed the Cavaliers 127-98, avenging an ugly loss to Cleveland just over a month ago.

A huge second-quarter run lifted the Hawks to a five-point halftime advantage, but they took the game over in the third after shooting 61.9 percent (13- of-21) and assisting on eight of their 13 made field goals.

Atlanta outscored Cleveland 30-15 in the frame and cruised to the easy triumph in the fourth, leading by as many as 31.

The Hawks, who posted 36 assists, have tallied 20-or-more helpers in all but two games and had assisted on an NBA-best 67.4 percent of shots made coming into the matchup.

Cleveland blew out Atlanta 127-94 on Nov. 15.

Al Horford supplied 20 points, while Paul Millsap added 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Hawks, who have won 11 of their last 12 games.

"You go up and down the roster, different guys contributing at different times. That's what we're trying to build, is a team," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said.

Atlanta moved to 18-7 on the season, its best start since 2009-10.

LeBron James had 21 points, Dion Waiters poured in 21 points off the pine and Kevin Love provided 13 points, 10 boards and six helpers for Cleveland, which has dropped three of its last four contests on the heels of an eight- game winning streak.

"I really don't have too much to say," Cavs coach David Blatt said. "That was embarrassing how we played."

Atlanta led 73-68 with 8:56 left in the third prior to an 18-5 burst to pull away for good. Horford had six points during the surge, which was capped on a Mack triple for a commanding 91-73 margin late in the third.

The Hawks took a 95-75 advantage into the fourth.

Earlier, after jumping out to a 41-25 lead after one in its meeting with Atlanta a month ago, Cleveland was up 34-26 following a quarter of play in this one. Matthew Dellavedova nailed one from beyond the arc in the waning seconds of the period.

Mack caught fire in the second, hitting five threes and scoring 17 points in the frame.

After a Dellavedova trey staked the Cavs to a 50-38 spread midway through the stanza, Mack knocked down a trio of triples during a 17-2 Atlanta swing. The Hawks hit five threes in all during the flurry, which was finished off on a Mack long distance shot for a 55-52 Atlanta lead.

The Hawks led 65-60 at the half.

Game Notes

Atlanta outscored Cleveland 101-64 over the final three quarters ... Dennis Schroder made his first career start in place of Jeff Teague, who has a strained left hamstring ... The Hawks shot 64.5 percent (49-of-76) from the field and hit 16-of-28 from beyond the arc.