Hawks vs. Cavaliers: Game 1 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs
Perhaps the Atlanta Hawks can file a motion to move to the Western Conference next season, because they haven't been able to get over the postseason hump of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland swept Atlanta in last year's Eastern Conference Finals and started their second-round series with a 104-93 victory Monday. SportsCenter noted James and the Cavaliers are a perfect 9-0 against the Hawks in the postseason.
James led the way with 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, while Kyrie Irving chipped in with 21 points and eight assists. Kevin Love added 17 points and 11 boards. James also made some history, as he passed Michael Jordan with the 120th playoff victory of his career, per CBS Sports NBA.
The Hawks got 27 points and six assists from Dennis Schroder off the bench, but it was not enough to overcome a late-game slump, as ESPN Stats & Info illustrated:
The only downside for Cleveland was that Love looked to be at less than full strength, which the commentators discussed on the broadcast.
"Love looks extremely gimpy and beat up," Mike Conti of 92.9 The Game in Atlanta noted. "Could be worth monitoring tomorrow."
Monday was the Cavaliers' first game since they finished their first-round sweep of the Detroit Pistons on April 24, but they looked anything but rusty in the early going. Cleveland took a 16-8 lead early as it connected on four of its first six three-point attempts, two of which came from Irving.
The Cavaliers parlayed that start into a 30-19 lead at the end of the first quarter. They maintained their advantage for much of the second quarter and were up 51-41 at halftime.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com recognized a theme:
James controlled the pace and hit six of his first eight shots for 13 points. It was his passing ability (and five first-half assists) that helped set the tone, however, via NBA on TNT:
The Hawks shot 29.8 percent from the field in the first half, which left Fedor wondering how they were still within striking distance:
Cleveland extended its lead to 66-52 when James drilled a three-pointer and then found Love for another long-range shot on the next possession after one of Tristan Thompson's seven offensive rebounds.
While James and Love were the stars finishing the shots, Thompson earned some recognition from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio: "Thompson totally outhustling, outmuscling and outplaying Al Horford."
James didn't need Thompson to clean up the glass when the former put his team up 72-54:
Just when it looked like the game was over, the Hawks closed the third quarter with a 16-2 run to trim the deficit to 74-70. Mike Scott, Kent Bazemore and Schroder all hit from deep during the spurt, but Mike Prada of SB Nation pointed out another key near the end of the quarter:
Atlanta kept the pressure on Cleveland in the fourth and took an 80-79 lead with a 10-0 stretch that included a Schroder three, a Paul Millsap dunk, three Kyle Korver free throws and a Schroder-to-Horford alley-oop.
"It gets him in trouble sometimes, but I love Schroder's fearlessness," Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey said. "He's the one Hawk who looks convinced they should win this game."
Irving provided an answer with the Cavaliers' next seven points. Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports commented on the back-and-forth nature of the matchup between the two point guards:
Irving wasn't the only Cleveland guard to come through in the clutch, though. J.R. Smith drilled a contested three to put the Cavaliers ahead 90-88, via NBA on TNT:
Smith's shot jump-started a 10-0 run that ended with Cleveland ahead 97-88 with less than two minutes remaining. The burst essentially sealed the game as Love connected on four of five free throws and James converted an and-one, though Dan Wolken of USA Today pointed out a silver lining for Hawks fans:
What's Next?
Game 2 will take place Wednesday in Cleveland.
The Hawks are surely disappointed with Monday's outcome, but their goal entering the series had to be to take one of the first two games in Cleveland. That is still in front of them, but they must find a way to contain James and prevent him from dictating the game.
There's no reason to think the Cavaliers can't win the second game of the series given their performance Monday and recent postseason history with the Hawks. Atlanta challenged Cleveland in the second half, but the Cavaliers were the team that executed with the game on the line.
If they do that again Wednesday, Cleveland will be in control of the series.
Postgame Reaction
The Hawks missed a chance to steal one on the road, and Millsap was asked if it was more of a case of his team losing the game or the Cavaliers winning it, per Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "It doesn't matter. We could have made shots that could have put us up. We tied the game and had opportunities to make the game go our way and put it in our favor."
Atlanta head coach Mike Budenholzer reflected on the contest and what it will take to win moving forward, per Vivlamore:
"I think we can play better. Obviously, [Schroder] had a great game for us, but overall the whole group, we can play better. Defensively, we had some possessions where we gave ourselves a chance. We just couldn't come up with a couple of rebounds late when it was tied [86-86]. We get a couple more of those rebounds and execute on the other end... For a Game 1, we'll learn a lot, and we'll be better going forward on both ends.
"
Cleveland's Irving said it was just one game in a long series, via Fox Sports Ohio:
"Irving tells @FSOAllieOop the @cavs were very resilient in the Game 1 win. #ALLin216
— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) May 3, 2016"
Stream: https://t.co/laWETJdKwqhttps://t.co/PZVj8npeiw
There was some concern about Love's health, but Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue said, "Everything's fine with Kevin," via the team's official Twitter account.
Love echoed those sentiments, via Fox Sports Ohio:
That is welcome news for Cleveland, which will need its Big Three healthy and ready to go if it plans on continuing its postseason dominance of the Hawks.
