ATLANTA — De’Andre Hunter scored 23 points off the Atlanta bench and the Hawks beat Cleveland 117-101 on Friday in the NBA Championship, handing the Cavaliers a loss for the second time in three days.
Later Friday night, the Hawks clinched East Group C in the NBA Cup when Chicago lost to visiting Boston.
The Cavaliers (17-3) still have the best record in the NBA, but once again they couldn’t match the Hawks’ scoring depth. Trae Young scored 21 points and 11 assists, and Jalen Johnson added 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as Atlanta finished with six scorers in double figures.
Darius Garland led Cleveland with 29 points and Evan Mobley added 24 points, including seven dunks.
Atlanta won 135-124 at Cleveland on Wednesday night and Young set a career-high with 22 assists. Young leads the NBA in assists with 12.5 per game. He is averaging 15.3 assists over his last six games, the most in a six-game span in Hawks history.
He is also the second player in the last 30 seasons to average 20 points and 15 assists in a two-game span against the team with the best record in the NBA. He joins Chris Paul in 2009 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Led by Hunter, Atlanta’s bench outscored Cleveland’s reserves 50-28.
After leading 52-50 at halftime, Clint Capela helped the Hawks pull away in the third quarter. Capela scored three consecutive baskets as the Hawks extended the lead to 67-57.
The Hawks tied their scoring record for a quarter this season by outscoring the Cavaliers 39-23 in the third period. They also scored 39 points in the second quarter of a 121-116 victory over the New York Knicks on November 6.
Atlanta visits Charlotte on Saturday.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
