The Cleveland Cavaliers got their first win of the season Tuesday night against the Atlanta Hawks.
Rodney Hood scored a season-high 26 points and Cedi Osman added 20.
This was the first game the Cavaliers played since firing head coach Tyronn Lue after starting the season at 0-6.
The Cavs came in as the NBA’s only winless team, and Lue paid the price for club’s slow start.
But with Larry Drew serving as Cleveland’s “acting” coach while he tries to get the team to restructure his contract, the Cavs played a complete game — Cleveland had seven players in double figures — and avoided their first 0-7 start since 1995-96.
George Hill and rookie Collin Sexton scored 17 apiece, and Tristan Thompson had 13 rebounds for Cleveland.
Forward Kevin Love has not played in the last three games due to a toe injury. The five-time All-Star said doctors are still trying to decide the best course of treatment, and to this point he has not been told he’ll need surgery.
Until Love’s back, the Cavs will have to replace his 19 points and 13.5 rebounds per game. Someone needs to pick up the scoring slack, and Hood could be the guy.
He struggled after coming over to Cleveland at the trading deadline from Utah and never found his groove. But against the Hawks, he attacked the basket and knocked down all four 3-pointers. He came in 2 for 15 behind the arc.
For the first time this season, Cleveland had a halftime lead and the Cavs never let up, scoring 41 in the third quarter and 78 after halftime.
Cleveland won 136-114.
