Backdoor Cut: Thoughts on Atlanta Hawks/Cleveland Cavs Game Three 5/24/15

By E. Marcel Pourtout, Editor

Observations from Atlanta Hawks’ 114-111 road overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavs in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals.

-Atlanta shot 41 percent from the field but continued to struggle from the three-point line, making 11 of 30 attempts. The Hawks lost the game not exclusively because of Al Horford’s ejection (we’ll get to that later). Allowing Cleveland to get 19 offensive rebounds was a problem. Getting outrebounded overall by the Cavs 56-42 was an issue.

-Six Atlanta Hawks scored in double-figures led by Jeff Teague’s 30. Paul Millsap had 22 points and team-high nine rebounds in the loss.

-It begins and ends with LeBron James for Cleveland and his line was outstanding. He had game-highs in points (37), rebounds (18) and assists (13). He did this after missing his first 10 shots. JR Smith and Matthew Dellavedova each had 17 points. That’s another reason for the loss. You can deal with James having that stat line as amazing as it was for the Hawks. The secondary players going off offensively can’t happen.

-Atlanta had its strongest start to a playoff game this postseason, taking a 12-4 lead with 7:19 left in the first quarter. Horford was active in the offense, scoring eight points during that time frame. The ball movement looked improved with even Kent Bazemore hitting a cutting DeMarre Carroll for a layup. Bazemore finished with 14 points while Carroll had 10.

-The Hawks took a 24-21 lead after the first quarter. Horford had a game-high eight points. James missed all nine shot attempts in the first quarter and finished with zero points. Cleveland had nine offensive rebounds in the first quarter.

-James finally scored his first point after missing his first 10 shots.

-Offensive rebounding was a major factor in the Cavs’ comeback, grabbing 11 rebounds and taking a 42-40 lead with 2:40 left in the first half.

-Hawks were leading 48-47 with 34.3 seconds left in first half when Horford was ejected with a Flagrant 2 foul after elbowing Dellavedova on the ground. I’ll elaborate more in another post about this but I thought the call was too stern. A Flagrant 1 call with no ejection would have been more appropriate.

-Hawks led 49-48 at halftime. They shot 46 percent from the field and made six out of 12 three pointers. Horford did have a team-high 14 points in the first half while Teague scored 12.

-Dellavedova scored a team-high 14 first-half points for Cavs who shot 32 percent from the field and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds.

-Atlanta had a rough start to the second half but tied the score at 67-67 after a 7-0 run led by shots from Mike Scott and Shelvin Mack with four minutes left in the third quarter. Scott had a team-high nine rebounds and eight points while Mack scored 13 points.

-Cleveland held a 81-76 heading into the fourth quarter.

-Atlanta went on a 15-2 run to tie the score at 95 with 4:32 left in regulation.

-Bazemore’s three pointer gave the Hawks a 100-97 with 3:40 to go. Smith tied game at 100-100 with 3::35 left. Teague’s layup makes score 104-100 w/ 1:38 left.

-Despite Hawks’ struggles, they still led 104-101 w/ 1:15 left. James hit a layup to cut lead to 104-103 with 18.1 seconds to go. Shumpert hit first free throw, missed second, tying score at 104-104 with 17.1 seconds left. The Hawks had the final possession and decided to have Teague shoot an isolation three-pointer at the buzzer which missed, taking the game to overtime. Why didn’t Atlanta have Teague drive to the basket for a closer shot and potential offensive rebound? Another reason the Hawks lost the game.

-Cleveland led 109-106 w. 2:35 left in overtime. Teague hit two free throws, cutting lead to 109-108. Teague’s three-pointer gave the Hawks the 111-109 lead with one minute to go.

-James took over and scored a three-pointer and layup on Cleveland’s next two possessions for the 114-11 lead. The Hawks had a chance to tie the game in the late seconds of overtime but Mack missed two three-pointers on final possession. Mack had a strong contest but they’re isn’t ONE reason why he should decide the fate of your season in that spot. Teague or Millsap HAVE to take that shot and it didn’t happen. Inexcusable.