The Jeff Teague-less Atlanta Hawks blew out the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Factory of Sadness Wednesday night 127-98.
How it happened: It was the Shelvin Mack game just like we all expected coming into tonight. Wait, no, that’s not right. Nobody expected that, Mack’s performance played a pivotal role in the Hawks running away with this one. Mack scored 24 points on 7-for-8 from the field, 6-for-6 from deep, in 23 minutes of action. Dennis Schroder got the start in place of Teague and put together a solid 10-10-2 line in 22 minutes of action, too. The Hawks as a team shot 57 percent from 3-point land with the majority of those bombs coming from Mack and DeMarre Carroll.
What it means: The Hawks have now beaten the two preseason Eastern Conference favorites in two of the last three nights; the Chicago Bulls Monday night and the Cavs tonight. The Hawks lost their previous meeting with the Cavs in November 127-94. (Kind of creepy.) The Hawks have played the easiest schedule in the League thus far, but after beating the Bulls and Cavs this week they’re sending a message that the SOS really doesn’t matter to them.
After clearly losing confidence in his game and shot earlier this season, Mack fell out of the rotation but was thrown back into the fire with Teague out and took advantage of the opportunity. Mack was shooting 20 percent from 3 coming into tonight’s game. Mack might be back.
Player of the game: Mack was a perfect 6-for-6 from deep, had a plus/minus of +27 in 23 minutes of action, and elevated the Hawks bench to push bury a good Cavs team in Cleveland.
Stat of the game: The Hawks outscored the Cavs 101-64 in quarters two through four.
What’s next: The Hawks will begin a mini Western Conference road trip by traveling to Houston to play the Rockets on Friday night and the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
