Atlanta Hawks Erase 26-Point Deficit In Victory Over Cleveland

Historic comeback victory enables the Atlanta Hawks to retain fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Fans at Phillips Arena began clearing out as the Atlanta Hawks entered the fourth quarter of Sunday’s contest against the defending champion Cavaliers facing a 26-point deficit.

Anyone that vacated early missed a comeback only previously accomplished twice in league history, as Atlanta trailed 93-67 entering the final period of the game.

But the Hawks managed to send the contest to overtime, thanks to a Paul Millsap baseline jumper as time expired.

The Hawks outscored Cleveland 44-18 in the fourth quarter and clinched the 35th winning season in franchise history by closing the game on a 14-6 run in overtime.

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A corner 3-pointer from Mike Muscala, part of a 12-point effort on 5-of-6 shooting shooting from the field to go along with five rebounds, four assists and a block in 25 minutes off the bench, put the team ahead for good with 35 seconds remaining in the additional session.

Muscala connected twice from beyond the arc in the contest, with his other long-range shot coming off a shot from the corner with 52 seconds remaining in regulation, cutting the Cavaliers advantage down to four points.

Millsap scored the final five points in regulation after drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt on LeBron James. Millsap, along with Kent Bazemore, then tied up Kyrie Irving on the Cavaliers’ final possession.

Bazemore won the jump ball and Millsap grabbed the loose ball with 1.6 seconds remaining and sank the contested baseline jumper over J.R. Smith to send the game to an additional five minutes.

Millsap finished the contest with a team-high 22 points, as he converted each of his 11 attempts at the foul line and, more importantly, managed to draw six fouls on James.

Cleveland had to play the final 1:52 without James, coughing up a three-point advantage and the game.

Complete team efforts have enabled the Hawks to win three consecutive games against elite competition in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta defeated Boston Thursday, then held off the Cavaliers Friday night, even without its starting five players available.

With the team struggling for the first three quarters Sunday, coach Mike Budenholzer held out starters Dennis Schroder and Dwight Howard for the entirety of the fourth quarter and overtime.

Once again the reserve players managed to provide major contributions. Eleven different players for Atlanta spent 12 minutes or more on the court Sunday afternoon, with six logging double-figure point totals.

The loss dropped the Cavaliers to 20-20 on the season away from Quicken Loans Arena and with an identical 51-29 record as the Celtics with two regular season games remaining.

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Atlanta has recovered from a seven-game losing streak by winning five of the past seven games, opening a one-game advantage over Milwaukee for the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference despite a triple-double effort from James and a 45-point performance from Irving.

The Hawks proved they could compete with any team, as both James and Irving spent more htan 45 minutes on the floor Sunday, while Kevin Love logged 43 minutes.

With just two games remaining, Atlanta has an opportunity to set up a first-round matchup with division rival Washington.

The final two games come against Charlotte, a team Atlanta has yet to defeat in three opportunities this season, and Indiana, a squad still looking to clinch a playoff berth.

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All Atlanta needs is an opportunity, a fact it proved with an exceptional fourth quarter and overtime performance against the defending champions Sunday afternoon.