Cavaliers at Hawks
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference at Boston on Wednesday but somehow came out of the game feeling good about themselves going forward. The Cavaliers will try to continue to build chemistry with some new pieces when they continue a three-game road trip by visiting the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
Veteran point guard Deron Williams made his Cleveland debut on Wednesday and ended up playing all but a few seconds of the fourth quarter and 24 minutes total, and got the opportunity to take the potential go-ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds that just missed in the 103-99 setback. "(Williams) has been around, so he can execute those plays," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters of giving the newcomer such a big role. "They were small, so we were just running pick-and-roll, trying to get a switch like they were trying to do and take advantage of the mismatch. As long as we're playing like that, we weren't really calling any plays. We're trying to look out for mismatches, and we were able to do that." The Hawks had no trouble at Boston in a 114-98 win on Monday and followed it up with a win over Dallas on Wednesday to kick off a six-game homestand. That homestand will get much tougher beginning with Cleveland and continuing with challenges against Golden State and Toronto next week as Atlanta tries to close a 1 1/2-game gap on the Raptors for the No. 4 spot in the East.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Ohio, FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (41-18): Cleveland is about to get even more veteran experience and championship pedigree from center Andrew Bogut, who is expected to sign with the team and join Williams on a beefed-up reserve corps. The Cavaliers are still waiting on the returns of starters J.R. Smith (thumb) and Kevin Love (knee) but are beginning to feel confident that they can defend their NBA title. "We're not where we want to be, but it's great to see what we have right now," superstar LeBron James told reporters. "What we have right now, we're playing some pretty good ball."
ABOUT THE HAWKS (34-26): Atlanta helped improve that Cleveland bench by dealing away sharpshooter Kyle Korver but is still streaking toward the playoffs as younger players take on bigger roles. Tim Hardaway Jr. was the beneficiary of more playing time in the wake of Korver's departure and knocked down a key 3-pointer late in Wednesday's 100-95 win to finish with 10 points - his 15th straight game scoring in double figures. The Hawks made their own moves at the trade deadline and brought in veteran power forward Ersan Ilyasova, who went 4-of-4 from 3-point range on Wednesday and finished with 18 points.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks C Dwight Howard recorded his third straight double-double on Wednesday while going 5-of-5 from the floor.
2. James recorded his second triple-double in his last three games with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists on Wednesday.
3. Atlanta earned a 110-106 win at Cleveland in the first meeting on Nov. 8.