When the Cleveland Cavaliers put up 77 points in the first half against the Hawks on Friday night, it looked like they were en route to a dominant blowout win. But nothing is ever that easy in the NBA. Despite trailing by 25 at one point in the second half, the Hawks battled all the way back and cut the lead to three with just over two minutes remaining.
The Cavs, however, were finally able to seal a narrow 135-130 win, in no small part to their record-setting 25 three-pointers, which beat the Houston Rockets’ previous record of 24 set back in December. Overall, the Cavs shot a blistering 54.4 percent from distance on the night.
Kyrie Irving led the way for Cleveland with 43 points and nine assists and shot 5-of-8 from behind the arc. He also put on a dribbling clinic early in the first half. LeBron James, meanwhile, poured in 38 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists on 14-of-27 shooting from the field, including 6-of-10 from downtown. One of those was a ridiculous shot from the left corner while falling out of bounds.
Tim Hardaway Jr. had a phenomenal performance in a losing effort as he posted a career-high 36 points and made several key plays down the stretch in the fourth quarter to help lead the Hawks’ late charge. Paul Millsap added 27 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting.
The Cavs have now won seven of their last 10 games and have a three-and-a-half game lead over the Boston Celtics for the top see in the East.
Source: DIME on UProxx