The Cleveland Cavaliers came crashing back to earth on Wednesday as they suffered a stinging 103-99 loss to the Boston Celtics. The reigning NBA champions had difficulty stopping Isaiah Thomas who scored a game-high 31 points. With the defeat, the Cavs have now lost two of their last three outings.
The Cavs will look to get their season back on track when they face the Atlanta Hawks later tonight. For Cleveland to grab the much-needed victory, it needs to improve on its play on the offensive end. The Cavs shot just 40.7 percent from the field on Wednesday as they failed to reach the 100-point mark for just the second time in their last seven games. The Cavs also lost the last time they failed to hit triple digits so it’s crucial for head coach Tyronn Lue that he gets Cleveland’s offense humming quickly against Atlanta.
Expected to lead the way for Cleveland in this crunch showdown is LeBron James. He recorded his seventh triple-double of the season in the loss to the Celtics, finishing with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. James has been superb for the defending champs, averaging 25.7 points, 8.9 assists, 7.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game this campaign. He scored 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field in the Cavs’ first meeting with the Hawks this season.
The Cavs are 4-2 SU and ATS in their last six road games.
The Atlanta Hawks stretched their unbeaten run to two games with a nerve-wracking 100-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. Six players scored in double figures for the Hawks who moved to within 1.5 games of the Toronto Raptors for fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Leading the way for Atlanta in this critical victory was Paul Millsap. The Hawks big man towered over the Mavs’ frontline, scoring 18 points and dishing out 10 dimes to record his 15th double-double of the season.
Things are bound to get, tougher, though, for the Hawks as standing in their way in their next game are the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have lost 11 of their last 12 games against the Cavs. The Hawks, however, can take comfort in the fact that they defeated Cleveland in their last meeting on November 8. Dennis Schroder scored a career-high 28 points in that encounter to help the Hawks snap their 11-game losing streak against the Cavs, He will look to replicate that performance against a Cleveland defense that’s allowing 105.9 points per game this season, 18th in the NBA.
The Hawks are 6-4 SU and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 home games.
