Okongwu's 29 and late free throws lift Hawks past Cavaliers 114-111

A finish Atlanta had to survive

The Atlanta Hawks did not make it easy, and that was rather the point. After three straight losses, after falling behind by double digits again, and after watching a ten-point lead shrink to one in the final minute, Atlanta still found a way to close. Onyeka Okongwu led the way with a season-high 29 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, and the Hawks held off the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-111 on Thursday night at State Farm Arena.

The result moved Atlanta to 3-3 and ended Cleveland's three-game winning streak, dropping the Cavaliers to 3-2. It also extended Atlanta's home winning streak against Cleveland to five games. For a team that had spent much of the early season chasing games from behind, the final seconds mattered as much as the final score.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 points and made the free throws that settled the outcome. With 15.3 seconds remaining, he sank two foul shots to restore a three-point lead after Cleveland had cut the margin to one. Atlanta's defence then survived two last-second attempts by Donovan Mitchell that could have tied the game.

Okongwu finished 11-for-17 from the field, including four three-pointers, in a performance that combined interior scoring, rebounding and floor spacing. Alexander-Walker shot 8-for-17 and also made four three-pointers. Aaron Wiggins added a season-high 20 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Jalen Johnson scored 17 points.

Another slow start, another recovery

The pattern will be familiar to Atlanta supporters, even if the ending was different this time. Cleveland limited the Hawks to 23.8 percent shooting in the first quarter and, sparked by an early 10-3 run, took a 28-16 lead. It was the fewest points scored in a quarter by Atlanta this season, and its 16 first-quarter points were its lowest mark for any period so far this season.

It was also the fourth consecutive game in which the Hawks trailed by at least 15 points. That is not a habit a team wants to build, but Atlanta has now shown it can recover from it. The Cavaliers led 35-24 with 7:22 left in the first half, before Atlanta went on a 13-2 run to tie the game at 4:33 on a runner by Okongwu. The Hawks took a 46-44 lead into halftime.

The third quarter showed both sides of that control. Atlanta pushed its lead to 61-50 on Alexander-Walker's three-pointer with 9:14 left in the third quarter. Cleveland responded, cutting the margin to 83-82, fuelled by nine third-quarter points from Harden. Atlanta still scored 43 points in the period and entered the fourth quarter with an 89-82 lead.

The closing minute decides it

Atlanta led by ten with 4:34 remaining. That should have been enough to change the closing script. Instead, Cleveland twice pulled within one point, turning the final possessions into a sequence where one defensive stop, one free throw or one missed shot would decide the result.

The second of those comebacks came on Mitchell's driving layup with 20.6 seconds remaining, cutting Atlanta's lead to one. Alexander-Walker's answer from the free-throw line with 15.3 seconds left was therefore more than two points. It changed Cleveland's final possession from a chance to win or tie into a search for a tying three-pointer, and it put the pressure back on the visitors.

Mitchell got two potential tying looks on the final possession but missed both. Atlanta survived, and the relief in the building was understandable. The Hawks had not simply won a close game; they had won the kind of close game that had been slipping away during their losing streak.

For Okongwu, it was a complete line for a big man: 29 points on efficient shooting, 12 rebounds and four three-pointers, including the runner that tied the game in the second quarter.

Alexander-Walker's contribution arrived in different phases. His three-point shooting helped Atlanta build its third-quarter lead, and his composure at the line decided the game.

Cleveland will take encouragement from its fightback, but also frustration from the missed opportunity. Harden's season-high 24 points and Mitchell's 22 kept the Cavaliers in the game, and Merrill's bench shooting gave them another threat. Yet Cleveland twice closed to within one point in the final minutes without completing the comeback. The final possession, with two tying attempts falling short, will be the lasting image of a narrow defeat.

What it changes, and what it does not

One win does not erase Atlanta's slow starts, and the Hawks will know that. Trailing by at least 15 points in four straight games is a trend that needs attention, even when the latest example ends in victory. Atlanta cannot keep relying on second-half recoveries, especially against teams that protect leads more ruthlessly than Cleveland did on Thursday.

The context around the evening added to the occasion. The game was the second half of a State Farm Arena doubleheader after the Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals. The Hawks, however, made their own night count, and the basketball story belonged to their late stand.

Atlanta take a 3-3 record into their next outing, no longer on a losing streak, with a closing sequence they can point to when the next tight game arrives.