Atlanta Hawks Beat Cleveland Cavaliers 120-118
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Summary
Tuesday night's game between the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers was sure to be tightly contested. Atlanta's 120-118 win over Cleveland wasn't a shocker, but Hawks head coach Quin Snyder's approach caught everyone off guard.
Snyder has not been shy about tinkering with the rotation, and the veteran head coach's experiments continued tonight. Vit Krejci entered the game in the first quarter and logged almost nine minutes. Conversely, AJ Griffin was a DNP coach's decision.
The bench was pivotal in Atlanta's success. Every Hawks starter finished with a net negative, while every reserve player netted a positive plus/minus. Onyeka Okongwu led the second unit with 21 points, including 11-12 (91.7%) free throw attempts.
Dejounte Murray hit several timely shots before finishing with a game-high 29 points. Meanwhile, Trae Young only provided 16 points on 4-15 (26.7%) shooting.
Cleveland presented matchup nightmares all over the floor (likely the reason for Snyder's preference for longer lineups). Donovan Mitchell exploded for 44 points but was unable to get his last deep shot attempt to go as time expired.
Atlanta improves to 38-38, while Cleveland falls to 48-29 on the season. The Hawks have two days off before visiting the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
Stats
Hawks Leaders
Dejounte Murray - 29 PTS, 5 AST
Onyeka Okongwu - 21 PTS, 9 REB
Trae Young - 16 PTS, 10 REB
Cavaliers Leaders
Donovan Mitchell - 44 PTS, 5 REB
Darius Garland - 27 PTS, 5 AST
Evan Mobley - 20 PTS, 15 REB
