Cavaliers blow 26-point fourth-quarter lead to fall to the Hawks in an OT stunner
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers appeared to be making an emphatic statement Sunday as the playoffs approach, building as much as a 26-point in the fourth quarter only to fall in overtime to the Hawks 126-125.
The Hawks became the third team in NBA history to erase such a fourth-quarter deficit, which is not the type of performance the Cavaliers envisioned 48 hours after losing to the same Atlanta squad.
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The Hawks completed the 26-point comeback thanks to a scramble after a jump ball, which Paul Millsap eventually corralled before hitting the tying bucket at the buzzer to force overtime.
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James was having his way early in the contest, throwing down vicious dunks and making highlight-reel passes on his way to his 55th career triple-double (32 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists), just four shy of tying Larry Big for sixth-most in NBA history.
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But in overtime, James was called for a questionable loose-ball foul – his sixth of the game – marking only the sixth time in his career he’s fouled out.
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After the game, Kyrie Irving, who finished with a game-high 45 points, hinted at pointing the finger at the refs, before thinking better of it.
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The Cavaliers fall back into a tie with the Celtics for the No. 1 seed in the East with only two games remaining in the regular season. Cleveland’s final two games of the season are against the Heat on Monday and Raptors on Wednesday, the final day of the campaign.
