The Atlanta Hawks’ third home game of the season at State Farm Arena initially drew attention for forcing the Atlanta Dream to move Game 6 of the WNBA Finals earlier on Thursday to a 12:30 p.m. ET start.
Thankfully for Atlanta and the fans who rearranged their plans on short notice to attend a daytime game, the Dream won 80-69 to force the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history and give themselves an opportunity to win the franchise’s first championship.
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However, the Hawks also won their first home game of the season after the arena staff changed courts with a 114-111 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Onyeka Okongwu scored 29 points (shooting 4 of 6 on 3-pointers) and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Hawks, who improved their season record to 2-3. Nickeil Alexander-Walker followed with 25 points and Aaron Wiggins provided 20 off the bench, hitting 4 of his 7 3-point attempts.
Playing their second of back-to-back games following a 129-117 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday, the Hawks initially looked tired out. The Cavs ran out to a 28-16 lead after the first quarter with James Harden scoring nine points and Sam Merrill adding eight.
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However, Atlanta soared back in the second quarter, outscoring Cleveland 30-16. Okongwu and Wiggins each scored eight points, helping the Hawks to go into halftime with a 46-44 lead.
The home team kept up the pressure in the third quarter, beginning with an 11-2 run highlighted by two 3-pointers from Okongwu to put Atlanta ahead 57-46. The Cavaliers chipped away at the Hawks’ lead with a Mario Hezonja 3-pointer cutting Cleveland’s deficit to 81-79 with 1:50 remaining in the quarter.
Following an Alexander-Walker basket, a 3 from Jarrett Allen pulled the Cavs to within one point. But the Hawks scored the final six points of the quarter to take an 89-82 lead into the fourth.
Late in regulation, a basket and free throw by Harden trimmed Atlanta’s lead to 108-104. With under a minute to play, Okongwu fouled Donovan Mitchell on a 3-point shot and the Cavs’ star made all three free throws to again cut Cleveland’s deficit to one point.
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But Okongwu rebounded a missed 3 from Alexander-Walker and scored to put the Hawks ahead by three. Mitchell followed with a floater to again make it a one-point game, but Alexander-Walker put the game away by making two free throws with 15.3 left in the game. Mitchell missed two 3-pointers in the closing seconds and Atlanta escaped with the win.
Mitchell finished with 22 points, shooting 7-for-19 from the floor. Harden led Cleveland with 24 points and Merrill contributed 16 as the Cavs dropped to 3-2, losing both of their road games thus far.
Both teams are off until Saturday when the Hawks visit the New Orleans Pelicans and the Cavs travel to play the Milwaukee Bucks.
