Hawks take down the Cavaliers in close victory, 120-118

Mar 29, 2023 - 2:10 AM

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The Atlanta Hawks were at home on Tuesday evening to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. It came down to the wire, but the Hawks snuck out with the win 120-118.

The Hawks were looking to get in the win column after dropping a close game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

The Hawks came out flat to start the quarter, going down 10 points, but the offense came along as time progressed, and it was because of the three-ball. John Collins popped it off with a three of his own.

That’s when a few other Hawks players got into the fun and knocked down some threes as well.

Both teams kept it close going into the second quarter, and the frontcourt for the Hawks had a few highlight plays. Onyeka Okongwu was able to able to finish this strong take in the paint early in the quarter.

As the quarter progressed, the Hawks opened up the game, scoring on multiple possessions and getting consecutive stops on defense. The Hawks led by as much as 15 points in the quarter, and Dejounte Murray had a few big shots within that run.

The Hawks led 59-51 going into halftime, and Murray led the way with 17 points in the first half. To start the second half, the Cavs came back and put pressure on the Hawks, closing their deficit and eventually taking the lead for a moment.

Murray got his second and-1 of the night in the third quarter, keeping the Hawks afloat with his solid play.

Okongwu had a solid game as well through three quarters, with 17 points and nine rebounds. Here he is hustling on the boards with a putback dunk.

Trae Young struggled for most of the game, but hit a few shots, including this step-back three to increase the Hawks lead.

It was a good quarter for the Hawks, as they went into the fourth quarter leading 94-84. They continued to make plays to start the fourth, but as the quarter went on the Cavs once again began to creep back into the game.

The game became a back-and-forth contest with less than 5 minutes remaining. Donovan Mitchell hit back-to-back threes, and then Collins hit one of his own to give the Hawks the lead back.

With a minute left, Murray hit a big shot to give the Hawks a four-point lead. Mitchell came down and hit a three to cut the lead down to one.

The Hawks missed on their following possession, and so did the Cavs, which gave the Hawks a chance to ice the game with free throws. Young split the free throws to give the Hawks a two-point lead. The Cavs did not have any timeouts, so a deep prayer was all they had time for, and they missed, giving the Hawks the victory.

Murray finished the game with 29 points, Okongwu finished with 21 points and nine rebuilds, and Young finished with 16 points and 10 points.