The first half was a back and forth battle that featured a lot of offense and very little defense. Atlanta shot 56% from the field (64% from three) while Cleveland shot 50% from the field (56% from three). After jumping out to a 25-16 lead in the first quarter, the Hawks allowed the Cavs to rally back and make it just a 29-27 lead at the end of the quarter. Cleveland followed the lead of Tyler Zeller who had eight points in six minutes, while Devin Harris led Atlanta with nine points. Dion Waiters also got off to a hot start scoring 14 in the first half to lead Cleveland.
The second quarter was close throughout and the Cavaliers had a lead over halfway through the quarter before the Hawks put in Ivan Johnson. Ivan was +15 in just 3:03 of playing time, and was a major factor on offense and defense. Ivan picked the pocket of Alonzo Gee which led eventually to an and-one bucket for Al Horford (off an Ivan pass), and he hit a 30-plus foot buzzer beater to put the Hawks up 11 at the half. Josh Smith was big for the Hawks filling up all areas of the stat sheet once again with 15 points, five boards, two blocks, and a steal. Al Horford continues to play well with nine points, six boards, and four dimes, while DeShawn Stevenson was 4-of-4 from three (his only four shots) for 12 points as he kept the Hawks in it after Cleveland started to make a run.
Atlanta has done relatively well on the glass and are only down 20-16 on the boards, but lead 9-7 on offensive rebounds. Anderson Varejao, the NBA's top rebounder, has been limited to seven total and two offensive. If the Hawks can keep up that pace on the glass and continue shooting well they should be able to pull away from the Cavs.