Okongwu's Season-High 29 Lifts Hawks Past Cavaliers 114-111

Onyeka Okongwu produced his best night of the young season to drag Atlanta past Cleveland 114-111 on Thursday night, ending the Hawks' three-game losing streak and halting the Cavaliers' three-game winning run. Okongwu finished with a season-high 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Atlanta survived a frantic finish at State Farm Arena. The Hawks had trailed by 15 points in the first quarter — the fourth straight game in which they fell behind by at least that margin — and managed only 16 points in the period, their lowest mark in any quarter this season. They flipped the game with a 19-2 second-quarter run that turned a 35-24 deficit into a 43-37 lead, and they were still in front when the final seconds arrived. Donovan Mitchell cut the gap to one with a driving layup with 20.6 seconds left, but Nickeil Alexander-Walker sank two free throws with 15.3 seconds to go, and Mitchell missed twice on Cleveland's last possession. Alexander-Walker added 25 points and Aaron Wiggins scored 20 off the bench for Atlanta, who improved to 3-3. James Harden led Cleveland with 24 points and Mitchell added 22 as the Cavaliers slipped to 3-2. The game was the second half of a doubleheader at the arena after the Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals.