Hawks end Cavaliers' perfect start, 11-game series skid
CLEVELAND -- 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, who were the league's last unbeaten team.
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.
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.
Cleveland made 77 3-pointers in its conference semifinal sweep of Atlanta last season, including an NBA record 25 3-pointers in one playoff game. All of that changed Tuesday when the Cavaliers shot just 26 percent (11 of 42) from deep.
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.
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, withstanding 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. But 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.
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, incidentally, 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 Chicago. ... The Hawks began the night leading the league in steals with 12.2. They reached double figures in steals in each of the first six games.