National Basketball Association
Atlanta 110, Cleveland 106
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Officials: #6 Tony Brown, #73 Tre Maddox, #13 Monty McCutchen
Attendance: 20562

CLEVELAND -- The results count more in May than they do November, but the Atlanta Hawks had to start somewhere. Given how the last two seasons ended against the Cleveland Cavaliers, this will do for now.

Dennis Schroder scored a career-high 28 points and Kent Bazemore added 25 in the Atlanta Hawks' 110-106 win against Cleveland on Tuesday, ending an 11-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.

It was the first loss of the season for the Cavaliers (6-1). Cleveland had been the league's last unbeaten team. Atlanta (5-2) won its second game in a row.

Bazemore hit a pair of big baskets in the final four minutes. His 3-pointer with 3:33 left was his first basket of the quarter and extended the Hawks' lead to 101-95. His baseline jumper in the final seconds was his only other basket of the quarter, but it put the game out of reach after a three-point play from Kevin Love pulled Cleveland within 108-106 with 25 seconds left.

"They've dominated the Eastern Conference for a long time now," Bazemore said. "They're definitely the measuring stick, and we passed our first test. This is one of the biggest wins I've had since I've been here. They're a very, very special team ... and for my two years here, they've kicked our butts."

Indeed, Cleveland swept Atlanta out of the playoffs each of the past two seasons. The Cavs made 77 3-pointers in their conference semifinal sweep last season, including an NBA record 25 3-pointers in one playoff game. All of that changed Tuesday when they shot just 26.2 percent (11 of 42) from deep.

"I just thought we didn't respect those guys," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. "(The Hawks) had pride, they always play hard and scrap. And once we decided to play, it was too late."

Kyrie Irving scored 29 points, LeBron James had 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Love added 24 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland, but the 31 missed 3-pointers were too much to overcome.

"It's our game. It's what we do," James said. "We had some pretty good looks. We're a team that when the ball is moving and you're the recipient of it, you have to let it go. You never want to second-guess yourself."

James and J.R. Smith combined to shoot 2 of 13 in the first half, and the Cavs fell behind by double digits for the first time all season. The Hawks' lead swelled to 18 in the third quarter, and Atlanta withstood a valiant comeback attempt by Cleveland in both the third and fourth quarters.

The Cavs trailed the final 29 minutes but pulled within 81-79 late in the third quarter on a 3-pointer from Smith. However, Iman Shumpert committed a costly foul while Bazemore was attempting a 3-pointer in the final second of the third quarter.

Bazemore converted all three free throws, and when Millsap opened the fourth with a three-point play, Atlanta's lead was back to 87-79. The Hawks extended it to 96-81 before another furious Cleveland rally set up the tight finish.

Paul Millsap scored 21 points and Dwight Howard grabbed 17 rebounds for the Hawks despite leaving briefly in the first quarter to get four stitches in his upper lip.

Howard doesn't care about the Hawks' prior problems with the Cavs.

"Of course I'm aware of it. I'm from Atlanta and I've watched the Hawks in the playoffs," he said. "That's all in the past now. We did an excellent job forcing (James) to take tough shots. This was a great win for us, but we can't just be satisfied to do well."

NOTES: Cavaliers G J.R. Smith became a political activist over the weekend when he joined LeBron James in campaigning for Hillary Clinton during a rally in Cleveland. ... Smith plans to remain in Cleveland after he retires. "It makes no sense to go anywhere else," he said. "To get treated the way we get treated here from the people, from the police, from everybody. There's nothing but love here. I couldn't imagine going anywhere else." ... Hawks G Kyle Korver missed Tuesday's game after the birth of his son Sunday. He is expected to play Wednesday when the Hawks host the Chicago Bulls. ... The Hawks began the night leading the league in steals at 12.2 per game. They managed just one Tuesday, by F Thabo Sefolosha. ... Cleveland plays the Wizards in Washington on Friday.
Top Game Performances
 
Atlanta   Cleveland
Dennis Schroder 28 Scoring Kyrie Irving 29
Dennis Schroder 6 Assists LeBron James 5
Dwight Howard 17 Rebounds Kevin Love 12
Kent Bazemore 5 Free Throws Made Kevin Love 10
Thabo Sefolosha 1 Steals LeBron James 3
Dwight Howard 3 Blocks Kyrie Irving 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Atlanta 110 50.6 11-29 17-24 22 50 4 1 19
Cleveland 106 37.4 11-42 21-25 21 39 1 12 6
Upcoming Games
  • Cleveland will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .833 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Atlanta will play their next game at home against Chicago. The Hawks have a W/L % of .800 after a win and .500 after a loss.