Cavaliers at Hawks
THE STORY: Two angry, defeated teams will meet Saturday night when the Atlanta Hawks host the Cleveland Cavaliers. Both teams were embarrassed in losses Friday night and will be playing the second of a back-to-back with steaming mad coaches. The Cavaliers lost to the Bulls at home by 39 points on Friday - the worst home loss in franchise history - despite the Bulls missing point guard Derrick Rose. Afterward, coach Byron Scott ripped the players’ effort. “The more they hit, the more we took steps back,” Scott said. “We didn’t react to their physical play whatsoever, besides the whining.” Hawks coach Larry Drew was even harsher following his team’s 14-point loss at Philadelphia. “It got tough for us in the third quarter and we quit,” Drew said. “I saw a pattern with it last year and I thought we had turned the corner with it this year. Not the fact that we lost the game, but the fact that it got tough for us and we did not respond. You could see it in our faces and see it in our body language.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Ohio, SportSouth
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (6-8): While the sample size isn’t very large, the Cavaliers haven’t fared well this season on the second night of back-to-backs. They’re 0-3, with two awful showings in losses to Toronto and Golden State. They rallied in the second half last week at Los Angeles, but still fell to the Lakers on a back-to-back. The schedule has been favorable thus far, but is about to stiffen. Counting tonight, the Cavaliers have two sets of back-to-back games in a six-day span and face 17 more back-to-backs this season.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (11-5): Even before the third-quarter collapse against the Sixers, Drew was leery of second-half letdowns. Drew hasn’t liked the lack of intensity with which the Hawks have started third quarters, dating back to last season. He says his goal every night is for the opponent to call the first timeout of the second half because it means the Hawks have started the half with energy, they’re likely rebounding and doing all the little things to create momentum.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Drew was an assistant under Scott when the two were with New Jersey. They were also teammates with the Lakers.
2. Anderson Varejao’s streak of double figures in rebounds ended Friday night at eight consecutive games. It was the longest such streak by a Cavaliers player in 14 years, since current Hawks assistant coach Tyrone Hill grabbed rebounds in 10 straight games.
3. The Hawks are 4-1 since losing Al Horford to a torn pectoral.