ATLANTA — Saddiq Bey scored 23 points and the Atlanta Hawks rallied from a 21-point lead to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-101 on Wednesday night.
Bogdan Bogdanovic also scored 23 points for the Hawks, who stopped the Cavaliers from sweeping the four-game season series.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder said he liked that his players “didn’t get discouraged or disconnected” when they were outscored 40-23 in the third period.
“Any time a team can go through adversity like that and respond, it’s a good thing,” Snyder said.
One night, after erasing a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit in a 105-104 home win over Boston, the Cavaliers rallied to take the lead after trailing the Hawks by 21 points in the third. This time, Cleveland was unable to mount a comeback.
Cleveland led 89-87 but only scored 12 points in the final period. Bey scored 10 of Atlanta’s 25 points in the fourth.
The Hawks credited the consistent play of their defense in the second half when their shooting faltered.
“No matter what happens on the offensive end, we can control our defensive efforts,” Bey said. “…He was trying to lock on that side.”
Jarrett Allen led Cleveland with 18 points and 19 rebounds. Isaac Okoro added 17 points.
Hawks forward Jalen Johnson sprained his right ankle early in the third period and was helped off the field. Johnson rolled his ankle while competing for an offensive rebound and did not return to the game.
Johnson, averaging 15.9 points and 8.7 rebounds, missed 14 games with a left wrist injury early in the season.
Dejounte Murray’s jumper gave Atlanta its largest lead at 73-52 in the third period. Murray scored 18 points and had nine assists.
The Cavaliers dominated the rest of the period, taking an 89-87 lead on Caris LeVert’s 3-pointer off a corner to end the period. LeVert’s basket gave Cleveland its first lead since 28-25 in the first quarter.
Craig Porter Jr. sank a jumper for a 93-93 tie before a Fernando Bruno jam gave Atlanta the lead for good.
Dean Wade, who scored 20 fourth-quarter points and a career-high 23 in Cleveland’s win over Boston on Tuesday night, scored nine points.
The Cavaliers lost forward Evan Mobley to a sprained left ankle in the third period of the win over Boston. Mobley was held against Atlanta and will be evaluated in about a week after tests confirmed the sprain.
Coach JB Bickerstaff said Mobley’s ankle was “tender” Wednesday. “We’ll see how it goes,” Bickerstaff said.
Mobley missed 16 games in December and January following left knee surgery.
Cleveland was also still without an All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell with bruised left knee bone and guard Max Strus (sprained right knee).
Hawks All-Star guard Trae Young is expected to miss at least two more weeks with a torn ligament in his left pinky finger. Snyder said forward Onyeka Okongwu (sprained left big toe) is “making progress.”
FOLLOWING
Cavaliers: Host Minnesota Friday night.
Hawks: Visit Memphis Friday night.
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