HAWKS CLINCH EAST GROUP C IN NBA CUP WITH WIN, BULLS LOSS

Atlanta Hawks beat Cleveland Cavaliers (AP)

ATLANTA -- De'Andre Hunter scored 23 points off Atlanta's bench and the Hawks beat Cleveland 117-101 on Friday in the NBA Cup, handing the Cavaliers a loss for the second time in three days.

Later Friday night, the Hawks clinched East Group C in the NBA Cup when Chicago lost to visiting Boston. They became the first team from the East to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals, joining the Rockets and Warriors from the West.

The Cavaliers (17-3) still boast the NBA's best record, but they again couldn't match the Hawks' scoring depth. Trae Young had 21 points and 11 assists and Jalen Johnson added 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as Atlanta finished with six scorers in double figures.

Darius Garland led Cleveland with 29 points and Evan Mobley contributed 24 points, including seven dunks.

Atlanta won 135-124 at Cleveland on Wednesday night as Young set a career high with 22 assists. Young leads the NBA in assists at 12.5 per game. He is averaging 15.3 assists over his past six contests, the most over a six-game span in Hawks history.

He is also the second player in the past 30 seasons to average 20 points and 15 assists in a two-game span against the team with the best record in the NBA. He joins Chris Paul in 2009 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Led by Hunter, Atlanta's bench outscored Cleveland's reserves 50-28.

After leading 52-50 at halftime, Clint Capela helped the Hawks pull away in the third quarter. Capela had three consecutive baskets as the Hawks stretched the lead to 67-57.

The Hawks matched their scoring high for a quarter this season by outscoring the Cavaliers 39-23 in the third period. They also scored 39 points in the second quarter of a 121-116 win over the New York Knicks on Nov. 6.

Atlanta visits Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

- ESPN News Services

DARIOUS GARLAND SCORES 39, CAVS IMPROVE TO 8-0 WITH 116-114 WIN OVER STRUGGLING BUCKS WITHOUT GIANNIS

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) goes to the basket past Milwaukee Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. (44) in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

CLEVELAND -- — Darius Garland scored 39 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 8-0 with a 116-114 win on Monday night over the Milwaukee Bucks, who played without injured superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Cavs also went 8-0 in 1976.

Garland drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 45 seconds left and the Cavs rallied down the stretch, outscoring the Bucks 18-8 over the final 6:06.

Jarrett Allen added 14 points, 15 rebounds and had a huge block on Milwaukee's Damian Lillard in the final seconds.

Lillard scored 36 for the Bucks, but committed a costly turnover when he was called for an over-and-back violation with 56 seconds left.

Bobby Portis added 21 points and 18 rebounds for Milwaukee, which has lost six in a row.

It was Cleveland's second win in three days over Milwaukee. On Saturday, Donovan Mitchell made a jumper in the final seconds to give the Cavs a 114-113 win.

Antetokounmpo sat out with a strained adductor muscle, an injury the two-time MVP sustained during the loss to Cleveland.

Takeaways

Bucks: Showed grit in giving all they had despite not having Antetokounmpo, who averages 31 points. Milwaukee's schedule hasn't helped, with five of seven games on the road.

Cavaliers: Another good lesson to not take any team for granted. The Cavs also survived without Mitchell carrying them. He only scored one point after the first quarter, finishing with 14.

Key moment

Mobley displayed his all-around game over a span of seven seconds in the second quarter. Protecting under the rim, the 7-footer soared to block a layup, grabbed the rebound, dribbled the length of the floor and dunked to ignite a 10-2 run.

Key stat

The Cavs were just the second team in history to start 7-0 with every player averaging less than 30 minutes. Seattle did it in 1978.

Up Next

The Bucks host the Utah Jazz on Thursday. The Cavaliers are at New Orleans on Wednesday.

- AP

JAYSON TATUM SCORES 33 POINTS, CELTICS REBOUND FROM LISS TO BEAT CAVS 106-93 FOR 2-1 SERIES LEAD

AP Photo 

 CLEVELAND (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, Jaylen Brown added 28 and the Boston Celtics looked more like themselves after stumbling at home, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-93 on Saturday night in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The top-seeded Celtics didn't mess around after dropping Game 2 on their home parquet floor by 24.

That lackluster performance — Boston was favored by double digits — was reminiscent of the first round, when the Celtics lost Game 2 against Miami before winning three in a row to eliminate the Heat.

“We just wanted to bounce back,” said Tatum, who added 13 rebounds. “Disappointing loss the other night, coming into a hostile environment on the road. It was a good test for us to see how we respond.”

Tatum scored on a three-point play and the Celtics opened the second half with 14 straight points to take a 23-point lead.

That was way too much for the Cavs, who overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun Boston in March.

Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points for Cleveland, but the All-Star guard aggravated a left knee injury in the fourth quarter and was labored. With Boston up 13 and in control, Mitchell left the court with 1:19 left and walked directly to the locker room.

Cleveland got within nine three times in the fourth but the Celtics, who went just 8 of 35 on 3-pointers in Game 2, got back-to-back 3s from Payton Pritchard and Derrick White to stave off the Cavs' comeback.

AP Photo 

Game 4 is Monday night in Cleveland.

Down by 23 and unable to stop Tatum, the Cavs clawed back.

They cut Boston's lead to 15 by the end of the third, and scored the first six points in the fourth, sending their towel-waving crowd at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse looking for another upset into a frenzy.

But whenever the Celtics needed a bucket, they went to either Tatum or Brown, who broke down Cleveland's defense for layups or made tough, contested jumpers.

Evan Mobley added 17 points and Darius Garland and Caris LeVert 15 apiece for the Cavs, who lost for the first time at home in these playoffs.

Cleveland was again without starting center Jarrett Allen, who missed his sixth straight game with a painful rib injury. Allen has been out since Game 4 of the opening-round series against Orlando and there's no telling when — or if — he'll be available.

Mitchell made six 3-pointers and scored 23 in the first half to pace the Cavs, but Cleveland didn't get nearly enough from the rest of its starters or bench as the Celtics opened a 57-48 halftime lead.

After the Celtics were stunned on their home floor in Game 2 despite being heavy favorites, coach Joe Mazzulla said the message to his players heading into Game 3 was simple.

“Do what you do best, and do it better,” he said.

The Celtics started cold again, missing their first two 3-pointers before making 5 of 8 to take a 30-28 lead after one.

Cleveland got a nice early lift as forward Dean Wade made his postseason debut after missing the past two months with a sprained knee. Wade, who scored a career-high 23 against Boston on March 5 when the Cavs overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter, knocked down a 3-pointer on his first touch.

Boston center Kristaps Porzingis missed his fourth straight game with a calf strain.

- TOM WITHERS

NBA ROUNUP: CAVS RECOVER, TOP 76ERS IN OT

USA TODAY Sports 

Darius Garland scored 32 points, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley recorded double-doubles and the Cleveland Cavaliers survived blowing an 18-point lead, beating the host Philadelphia 76ers 122-119 in overtime on Tuesday night in an NBA in-season tournament game.

The victory extended Cleveland's winning streak to four games and improved the Cavaliers to 2-1 in East Group A action in the in-season tournament. The win came after Philadelphia rallied from 18 down to take a 110-108 lead and Cleveland forced OT with Garland's free throws with 13.1 seconds left.

Allen logged 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Mobley had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Max Strus, who shot 5-for-10 from 3-point range, finished with 20 points for the Cavaliers.

Joel Embiid scored 32 points for the 76ers, and Tobias Harris scored 23. Philadelphia fell to 2-2 in in-season tournament play.

Pacers 157, Hawks 152

Tyrese Haliburton bounced back from his worst offensive game of the season with one of his best as he scored 37 points to help visiting Indiana overcome a 20-point deficit and beat Atlanta.

Haliburton, who scored a season-low 12 points against the Orlando Magic on Sunday, recovered to score 26 in the third quarter alone on Tuesday. Buddy Hield (24 points) made a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left to put the Pacers ahead 155-152.

Atlanta had a chance to tie when Trae Young (38 points) stole the ball with 13 seconds left, but Dejounte Murray (28 point) opted to drive for a layup rather than take a 3-point attempt, and he missed the shot.

Suns 120, Trail Blazers 107

Kevin Durant recorded 31 points and nine assists and Devin Booker scored 28 points as Phoenix topped visiting Portland.

Playing in his 1,000th career game, Durant moved into 11th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 27,331 points. Durant passed Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes, who had 27,313 points (1968-84).

Jerami Grant scored 26 points for the Trail Blazers, who lost their eighth consecutive game. Deandre Ayton played in Phoenix for the first time since the Suns dealt him to Portland. The former No. 1 overall draft choice had 18 points and eight rebounds.

Magic 126, Raptors 107

Paolo Banchero scored 25 points and Orlando defeated visiting Toronto in an NBA in-season tournament game.

Jalen Suggs added 18 points for the Magic, who have won four in a row. Franz Wagner scored 17 points and Cole Anthony contributed 15 points and 10 assists for the Magic. Moritz Wagner and Gary Harris each scored 10 points.

Dennis Schroder had 24 points for the Raptors. Pascal Siakam added 16 points and eight assists, Scottie Barnes had 14 points, OG Anunoby put up 11 points and Jakob Poeltl logged 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Lakers 131, Jazz 99

Anthony Davis had 26 points and 16 rebounds and Los Angeles finished 4-0 in group play of the NBA in-season tournament with a victory against visiting Utah.

D'Angelo Russell had 20 points and eight assists and LeBron James contributed 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Lakers. In the first quarter, James became the first player in NBA history to reach 39,000 points.

Omer Yurtseven scored 18 points off the bench and John Collins led the starters with 15 points for the Jazz, who fell to 2-2 in group play.

--Field Level Media