Game one between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers was a great one. Early on, it was all Cleveland. The Cavs began the game up 16-8, and by the end of the first quarter led 30-19. Kyrie Irving scored 10 points in the first, and the Cavs shot a combined 6-11 from three-point range. Tristan Thompson’s defensive impact was clear early on. Paul Millsap and Al Horford shot a combined 1-9 from the field in the first quarter.
The second quarter was pretty similar to the first; Millsap and Horford still couldn’t figure out how to score, and the Cavs led 51-41 at the half.
Early in the third quarter, it seemed as though the Cavs were pulling away. They opened up an 18 point lead, 72-54. The Hawks weren’t done yet, though. Back-to-back Atlanta three-pointers cut the lead to 12, and forced Tyronn Lue to call a time out. Then, Dennis Schröder scored at the rim, then hit a pull-up three-pointer. Suddenly, it was a seven point game.
Dennis Schröder was the story of the game for Atlanta. He had a career night, scoring 27 points –marking a new career-high for him, playoffs or otherwise. Schröder shot splendidly: 10-20 from the field, and 5-10 from downtown. His success earned him 28 minutes of playing time, 7 minutes more than Jeff Teague, who was the starter.
At the end of the third quarter, the Cavs held just a five-point lead: 75-70.
Kyle Korver was fouled on a three-pointer(well, actually Millsap was fouled, but the free throws were given to Korver), and the Hawks trailed by just one point. Then, Dennis Schröder gave Al Horford a nice feed for a slam, to give the Hawks their first lead, 80-79. This capped off a 10-0 Atlanta run(and also a 26-9 run).
The game went back and forth for a while later, but Cleveland gained the momentum after an off-balance three-pointer by J.R. Smith, and some great work on the offensive glass by Tristan Thompson. The Cavs went on a 10-0 run to go up 97-88, and the game was pretty much over at that point. The Cavs won the game, 104-93.
Schröder led the Hawks with 27 points off the bench. Other key contributors included Kent Bazemore(16 points, 12 rebounds), Paul Millsap(17 points, 13 rebounds),
LeBron James led the Cavs in points(25), assists(nine), and steals(five). He also pulled down seven rebounds.Kyrie Irving scored 21 points and dished out eight assists. Kevin Love posted a double-double(17 points & 11 rebounds), though Love shot just 4-17 from the field. Tristan Thompson scored just eight points, but grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end.
