How Jaylon Tyson, Donovan Mitchell carried Cavaliers over Hawks

The Cleveland Cavaliers snapped their two-game losing streak, muscling out a 117-109 win against the Atlanta Hawks at home Sunday night at Rocket Arena.

“We needed that,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Obviously it’s not a must-win situation this early in the season, but we needed this one for our confidence, especially after the Toronto loss where we felt like we had chances to win.”

The Hawks were finishing a four-game road trip but never wilted. In the first half, Atlanta was aggressive in the paint outscoring the Cavs 30-18 and out-rebounding them 30-19 despite Cleveland building a 14-point lead in the first quarter.

The Wine and Gold gutted it out in the second, holding the Hawks to just 16 boards while the Cavaliers earned 25.

“You could argue that was the difference-maker” Atkinson said of crashing the boards down the stretch. “We didn’t shoot it great and we just attacked the offensive boards.”

Sophomore guard Jaylon Tyson continued to impress finishing with 18 points including five three balls—three of which came in the clutch in the fourth quarter.

“I’m very confident right now,” Tyson said post-game as he credited his teammates for trusting him. ”To have Donovan, Lonzo, Ev (making passes) and trusting me in those big moments, it’s a blessing.”

Donovan Mitchell sat with the media to listen as Jaylon fielded questions by himself at the podium. When asked about what it’s been like to play with Mitchell, Tyson’s demeanor shifted.

“You want the truth?” he said with a smile before continuing in his consistently sincere demeanor.

“I’m just grateful for him as a person. Obviously he’s a hell of a basketball player but he’s taught me so much and I’ve leaned on him in key moments to ask questions… I’m blessed to have him as a teammate.”

From the back of the room Mitchell capped off the moment quipping “I got a tear in my eye” before the two dap-hugged and Mitchell took the podium.