Defense lacking as Hawks hand Cavaliers second loss, first at home

CLEVELAND — It was fun while it lasted. The Cavaliers' magical run hit a speed bump Wednesday night in a 135-124 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Cleveland (17-2) suffered its first loss at home this season after winning its first 10 games. Orlando (9-0) is the last unbeaten team at home this season. The Cavs never got any traction on the defensive end and allowed a season-high 135 points to the Hawks (8-11), who seemed to score at will from the 3-point line. The teams will have a rematch Friday in Atlanta in a key NBA Cup game. All-Star point guard Trae Young, listed as questionable before the game with right Achilles tendinitis, dominated with 20 points and a career-high 22 assists. "We told the guys before the game, he's most dangerous with his playmaking," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. "He controlled the game with his passing." The Cavs coach has complained about his team's defensive slippage for the last couple weeks. It hasn't been a major problem since they've been outscoring teams by a wide margin. It finally caught up to them Wednesday. "We haven't had a stinker yet this year," Atkinson said. "That was a stinker." When the Hawks exploited Cleveland's man-to-man defense, it switched to a zone. "They tore that up, too," Atkinson said. "Our switching was sloppy. There were defensive breakdowns that caused open threes. We got what we deserved. They played a great game. They absolutely took this game and dominated us." The Hawks made 20 of 42 shots from behind the arc, outrebounded the Cavs 50-45 and dished out 39 assists. Forward De'Andre Hunter fired in a team-high 26 points for the Hawks, while Jalen Johnson had 22. Forward Zaccharie Risacher, the first pick in the 2024 draft, scored 13 of his 17 points in the first three minutes of the third quarter. The Cavs played catchup the rest of the game. Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 30 points, while forward Evan Mobley had 22 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, five steals and three blocks. "Our defensive effort wasn't what it needed to be," Mitchell said. "We did it in spurts." Mobley said Cleveland's defense is always its major focus but has to be better. "It's our main identity," he said. "We need to communicate more. We need to be more sound and disciplined." The Cavs had a 19-point lead in the first quarter and were up 64-61 at halftime. But Atlanta scored 74 points in the second half to leave Cleveland in its dust. LeVert getting close Swingman Caris LeVert's injury report has changed from knee inflammation to injury management. He remained out of the lineup against Atlanta. Atkinson said LeVert went hard in the shootaround Wednesday and played three-on-three. "It seems like he's ramping up," he said. "I think he'll be ready within the next week." Dean Wade and Max Strus, who both have ankle injuries, were also out vs. the Hawks. In a pickle Atkinson had the players play pickleball recently to break up the monotony of the 82-game regular season. "The season is too long to grind it out everyday," he said. "It helps with the spirit of the team." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X. Hawks 135, Cavaliers 124 ATLANTA (135): Johnson 9-16 2-2 22, Risacher 6-10 2-2 17, Capela 1-7 0-0 2, Daniels 4-11 2-2 12, Young 6-18 5-5 20, Okongwu 5-7 0-0 10, Hunter 9-16 3-4 26, Bogdanovic 4-8 6-6 17, Bufkin 2-4 3-4 9. Totals 46-97 23-25 135. CLEVELAND (124): Mobley 7-15 7-10 22, Okoro 3-8 0-0 8, Allen 6-7 5-7 17, Garland 7-14 3-3 19, Mitchell 10-24 6-8 30, Niang 3-8 0-0 8, Jerome 3-8 0-0 8, Merrill 4-8 0-0 10, Porter Jr. 0-1 0-0 0, Tyson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 44-95 21-28 124. Atlanta&emsp; 35&emsp;26&emsp;37&emsp;37&emsp;—&emsp;135Cleveland&emsp;35&emsp;29&emsp;31&emsp;29&emsp;—&emsp;1243-Point Goals—Atlanta 20-42 (Hunter 5-9, Bogdanovic 3-5, Risacher 3-6, Young 3-13, Bufkin 2-2, Daniels 2-3, Johnson 2-4), Cleveland 15-48 (Mitchell 4-14, Jerome 2-5, Okoro 2-5, Merrill 2-6, Garland 2-7, Niang 2-7, Mobley 1-3, Porter Jr. 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Atlanta 51 (Daniels 10), Cleveland 44 (Mobley 12). Assists—Atlanta 39 (Young 22), Cleveland 31 (Garland, Mitchell 7). Total Fouls—Atlanta 21, Cleveland 21. A—19,432 (19,432)