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 The Hawks guard sank a 20-foot jumper at the end of double
overtime, lifting Atlanta to a 127-125 win over the Cleveland
Cavaliers before 18,682 at Quicken Loans Arena.
Teague saw his floater bounce off the rim with 0.9 seconds left in
regulation, and he missed a baseline jumper at the first-overtime
buzzer.
At the end of the second OT, Teague let the clock wind down, then
fired a shot from the left of the key. The ball hit the rim, then
the backboard, then the rim three more times before falling through
the net.
He fell back onto the court in celebration and was swarmed by
teammates.
Teague said the last shot was supposed to be a pick-and-roll.
"The Cavs switched on us, so I just went for it," he said. "I
couldn't even see it (bounce on the rim), but Kyle (Korver) picked
me up and told me what happened. I'm really happy it went in."
Teague paced the Hawks (16-13) with a career-high 34 points, a
game-high 14 assists and three steals.
The 6-foot-2 guard converted 14 of 24 shots from the field.
The Cavaliers (10-18) couldn't stop turning the ball over, as they
matched their season high with 24 turnovers.
"Of course (we let this slip away), especially when we laid it on
the line like that," Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters said. "We have to
close it out, especially at home."
Cleveland suffered its third consecutive loss and fell for the fifth
time in six games.
"It's definitely a heart-breaker," Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving
said. "I had some costly turnovers. We turned the ball over too
much."
Irving committed six turnovers, including a costly one with 2.4
seconds left in the first overtime. Instead of going for a possible
game-winner, Cleveland had to hope the Hawks' last shot didn't go
in. Teague missed a 17-foot baseline attempt, sending the game into
the second OT tied at 108.
The Cavaliers led by five points on three different occasions in the
second OT, the last time at 118-113 with 2:50 to play.
First, they allowed a wide-open 3-pointer by Atlanta reserve center
Pero Antic, whom Irving called "that guy with the beard."
Then, the Hawks converted a rare four-point play by Korver, when
Anderson Varejao fouled the guard beyond the 3-point arc.
The Cavaliers just couldn't get the needed stops.
"It's tough, man," Waiters said. "We could have put them away a few
times. We gave them a lot of second-chance points."
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown added, "I just felt we made too many
mistakes as a group down the stretch of regulation and overtime and
the second overtime — not just offensively — but defensively as
well.
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"We still don't understand that we can win games by getting
stops. That's a big downfall of ours. Somehow we have to figure
out we can't outscore everybody."
Waiters had 20 points and four assists in his first game since
Dec. 17. He missed three games with tendinitis in his right
wrist, and he wore a pad over the wrist Thursday.
"It was sore," he said. "I didn't want to miss any more games."
Irving led all scorers with 40 points, and he added nine
assists.
Irving was held scoreless in the previous meeting against the
Hawks on Dec. 6. When he missed his first five shots Thursday,
it stretched his streak to 14 misses in a row vs. Atlanta.
However, he subsequently sank four consecutive shots and was off
and running. In all, he made 17 of 33 attempts Thursday.
The Hawks had four players score 20 or more points. Center Al
Horford, who suffered a shoulder injury at the end of
regulation, had 25 points and eight rebounds.
Forward Paul Millsap had 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Korver
had 20 points and five assists.
"Cleveland and Kyrie Irving were pretty amazing and pretty
special," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I'm proud of our
guys for finding a way.
"It was nice for this amazing game to finally be over.
Obviously, Teague made a lot of plays throughout the game and in
the overtimes. I'm proud of him."
Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson added 22 points and six
rebounds, and center Anderson Varejao tied his season high with
17 rebounds.
NOTES: Hawks F DeMarre Carroll (wrist/thumb) and C Al Horford
(right shoulder) were knocked out of the game with injuries.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said they would be evaluated
Friday. ... F Earl Clark replaced F Alonzo Gee in Cleveland's
starting lineup, and he scored three points. Gee never got off
the bench. ... Cavaliers G Kyrie Irving remains second in the
fan voting for the NBA All-Star game among backcourt players in
the Eastern Conference. Heat G Dwyane Wade is first with 565,455
votes, followed by Irving with 524,000. Irving has a substantial
lead over injured Bulls G Derrick Rose, who has 299,950 votes.
... Cavaliers G C.J. Miles knows shooters, and he holds Hawks
G/F Kyle Korver in high regard. "He might go down as the best
shooter ever," Miles said. ... Hawks G John Jenkins is sidelined
due to a back injury, while Atlanta F Cartier Martin was out
because of a sprained ankle.
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