Cleveland Cavaliers Lose First Game As Defending Champions; Still Atop NBA Standings

The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered their first loss as reigning NBA Champions on Tuesday night against the Atlanta Hawks, 110-106.

With that loss, the Cavaliers dropped to 6-1 on the season. A disappointing home loss, but still not a crushing defeat. The Cavaliers are still in first place in the Eastern Conference, and only two other squads in the East have five wins.

LeBron James finished the game with 23 points and a team-high five assists, but it was Kyrie Irving who was the Cavaliers top scorer with 29 points. The Hawks had their biggest success in the second quarter when they outscored the Cavaliers 33-22 to take a 53-42 halftime lead. Numerous times in the second half it looked like the Cavaliers would be able to pull away with a comfortable lead, but it just didn’t happen.

Dwight Howard, who is arguably the best center in the league, had a fantastic night on the boards with a game high 17 rebounds.

The Cavaliers, who did have home court advantage, did a good job of getting to the free throw line, but they simply did not have an efficient shooting night. The Cavaliers shot a disappointing 37.4 percent from the field while the Hawks made more than 50 percent of their shots from the field.

The Cavaliers will travel to the nation’s capital on Wednesday to face the Washington Wizards, who are a disappointing 1-5. The Cavaliers will more than likely take care of business against John Wall and the Wizards and improve to 7-1.