Atlanta Hawks snap lengthy losing streak in Cleveland

By Brendan Galella | Nov 6, 2017

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images /

The Atlanta Hawks held on just long enough to snap an eight-game losing streak with a win in Cleveland Sunday afternoon.

Victories have been scarce for the Atlanta Hawks during the first 10 games of the 2017-18 season.

After topping the Mavericks on opening night, Atlanta had dropped eight consecutive games, plummeting to the bottom of the standings in the Eastern Conference.

Only a Sunday afternoon game provided the Hawks a chance to face the worst defense in the NBA, as the Cavaliers are surrendering 113.4 points per game. Only the Nets and Suns are allowing opponents to score more points per game, and their defensive rating ranks dead last.

For all of the defensive futility expressed by the Cavaliers, it was porous defense from Atlanta in the fourth quarter that enabled either team to claim a victory in the waining seconds.

Atlanta survived a furious late rally as it continued its regular season success against the Cavaliers. A 117-115 victory marked the fourth win in the last five meetings between the teams.

Cleveland poured in 37 fourth quarter points and had an opportunity to clinch the game when Channing Frye launched a shot from 25 feet out that rimmed out, setting up Dwyane Wade for a put back opportunity that failed to fall through the net, and his last ditch opportunity came after the buzzer sounded.

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The inability of Wade to convert at the buzzer was the one blemish in an otherwise stellar performance for the 35-year-old guard, as he totaled 25 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a block in 32 minutes.

Once again, Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder was the primary offensive catalyst, pouring in a game-high 28 points and dishing out seven assists.

The output of Schroder accounted for 43.4 percent of the total points scored by the Hawks, as the team submitted its finest offensive showing of the year.

Atlanta shot 47.7 percent from the field, went to the foul line 34 times and buried 11 shots from 3-point range and matched its season-high point total as seven players finished the contest scoring in double figures.

The scoring total was propped up by 24 assists, the second-highest output by the Hawks this season, as movement away from the ball forced the Cavaliers defense to rotate, often too late.

Rookie John Collins punished the lackadaisical defense displayed by the Cavaliers as he elevated over Cedi Osman for a beautiful dunk.

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/927297131697782784

Collins struggled shooting from the field, converting just 3-of-10 shot attempts, but he still finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and an assist.

The play from the 19th overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft helped alleviate the loss of four rotation players to injury, with DeAndre’ Bembry out with a broken wrist, Miles Plumlee nursing sore quadriceps, Mike Muscala prevented from playing by an ankle injury and Ersan Ilyasova sidelined by a bone bruise in his knee.

Despite the lack of depth available for the Hawks, they sprinted to an early 16-point lead just eight minutes into the game as Schroder was picking apart the Cleveland defense.

Schroder dished out seven assists in the opening quarter, three leading to open looks from 3-point range and another two setting up easy scoring chances at the basket.

The crisp passing from Schroder helped negate the 11.5 points the Cavaliers were favored by entering the contest.

When Cleveland tried to stage a rally in the third quarter, Schroder once again responded, only this time by scoring the ball himself. The 6’1″ guard tallied 13 straight points for the Hawks, helping to restore the lead to 16 points and prompting the crowd at Quicken Loans Arena to cascade boos on the home team.

Next: 2017-18 Week 4 NBA Power Rankings

It had been 19 days since the Hawks last claimed a victory and their performance Sunday afternoon finally gave their fans something to cheer about.

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