Cancel the parade, the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first game of the season. The elusive first win came courtesy of a 136-114 victory over the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday night.
The Cavaliers took advantage of Atlanta’s sloppy play and turned 23 turnovers into 15 points. While this number is hardly impressive Cleveland was able to parlay this into a win. Atlanta still shot better from the field, 53.7 to 50 percent. Although the Cavaliers shot better from deep, 52 percent compared to Atlanta’s 42.9 percent. This is a bit surprising since Cleveland has been dreadful this season from the three-point line.
Rodney Hood led the way for the Cavaliers, scoring 26 points, three steals, three assists and one rebound. Hood went 9-13 from the floor, including making all four shots from deep.
Cedi Osman also contributed to the cause, scoring 20 points on 5-11 shooting, three of which were of the three-point variety. Osman rounded out his performance by adding five rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Rookie point guard Collin Sexton put together a respectable performance, adding 17 points to the Cleveland cause. Sexton made four of 10 shots from the field, this includes one of his two three-point attempts. The bright side was the consistency from the free throw line. Sexton made eight of nine attempts on the night. Sexton also grabbed eight rebounds, four of each variety, assisted on one field goal and blocked one shot. It is good to see Sexton grow as a player and put together a good game. Even if it was against the lowly Hawks.
Cleveland will look to build upon their first win when they host the Denver Nuggets Thursday. Denver is currently 5-1 and owns the second-best record in the Western Conference. It will be a tough task for Cleveland to keep this game close. Crazier things have happened, but expecting the Cavaliers to win is quite unlikely.
