Hawks knock off the Cavs!

Go Hawks!

Pressure gauge: How will Cavaliers handle first loss as champs?

“I just thought we didn’t respect the guys,” Lue said of the Hawks. “We won 11 straight, and we thought we’d come in and beat this team. They had pride. They always play hard and scrap. And once we decided to play, it was too late. We had to expend so much energy trying to get back in the game twice. And then, when you dig yourself a hole that big, it’s hard to come back from.”

Tyronn Lue on uneven Cavs' loss to Hawks: 'Games like this come back and bite you'

CLEVELAND -- A game after the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Boston Celtics to take back control of their perch atop the Eastern Conference, the Cavs once again devolved into a group with more questions than answers. Friday's 114-100 loss came against an Atlanta Hawks team that was resting all five of its starters.

"Obviously a bad performance," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said after his team failed to protect a nine-point lead midway through the third quarter and fell behind by as many as 20 in the fourth. "Beat Boston and have the game that we had, and to come back and not validate it against a team that didn't even play their guys.

"I didn't think we respected them tonight. I thought we thought we'd just mess around with the game until it was time to knuckle down. By that time, they already had confidence. That's who we've been. That's who we are. I hate it.

"These games like this come back and bite you, especially down the stretch when you're trying to get some rest. Trying to hold on to that No. 1 seed and getting rest, and you come out and have a performance like this, it's not good."

One Cavs source told ESPN it was the "most embarrassing loss of the season by a lot." Another told ESPN, "I saw it coming," when he got wind of the Hawks sitting their marquee guys. Yet another told ESPN of the Cavs' up-and-down nature, "I don't get it. I don't f---ing get it."

Hawks cap 26-point rally vs. Cavaliers with stunning OT win

ATLANTA -- Another day, another shocking loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The Hawks wiped out a 26-point deficit in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Cavs 44-18 in the period and forcing overtime on Millsap's baseline jumper at the buzzer.