The Cavaliers were hit with a Mack Truck as Shelvin Mack dazzled and the Atlanta Hawks put on a dizzying offensive display in a 127-98 victory Wednesday night at The Q.
Cleveland (14-10) was once in control, up 50-38 midway through the second quarter. Then the floor dropped out. The Hawks moved the ball swiftly from left to right and the Cavaliers were repeatedly late on their defensive rotations.
Mack was the main beneficiary of the tardiness, scoring 17 of his 24 points in the second quarter as the Hawks outscored the Cavaliers, 39-26. He was 6-of-6 from beyond the arc and didn’t miss a field goal until early in the final quarter.
Entering the night, the fourth-year veteran from Butler had a season high of 13 points on Nov. 25 against Washington. The only reason he played significant minutes was due to Jeff Teague, the Hawks’ leading scorer, being out with a strained left hamstring.
It was disastrous quarter for the Cavs, who allowed multiple wide-open looks. LeBron James was barking orders and showing his frustration.
Atlanta (18-7) was in so much of a rhythm that Mike Scott buried an uncontested buzzer-beating 28-foot three-pointer to end the half. It was a couple of feet out of his range, but again, he was wide open.
The Hawks went into the break up 65-60, having shot 69 percent from the field. Every single Hawks player was shooting 50 percent or higher.
In an attempt to buckle down on defense, the Cavaliers forgot how to score in the third. Atlanta held them to 15 third-quarter points and increased their lead to 20 heading into the fourth.
Head coach David Blatt waited approximately four minutes to see if his team could build some momentum. They could not, and the starters were pulled. When it was all said and done, Kyle Korver (1-of-3) and Thabo Sefolosha (1-of-3) were the only visitors to not hit 50 percent of their shots.
The 65 percent shooting was the highest Cleveland has given up all season.
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