Hawks Clinch Spot in NBA Cup As the Winners of Group C in Eastern Conference

The Hawks pulled off two massive wins against the Cavaliers and got a little help from Boston to punch their ticket to the NBA Cup.

Nov 29, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) plays defense against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) during the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images / Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

It's hard to say that this is what the national media expected, but the Hawks will be the first team to punch their ticket to the NBA Cup in the Eastern Conference. Despite being in a group with the Cavaliers and Celtics, the Hawks got three crucial wins against the two best teams in the Eastern Conference to come out of the group.

With their win, they now move to the knockout round of the NBA Cup.

The Knockout Rounds will consist of single-elimination games for the eight teams that advance from Group Play, beginning with the Quarterfinals on Dec. 10-11. Teams that win will progress to the neutral-site Semifinals on Dec. 14, and then the Championship on Dec. 17. 

In arguably their best two-game stretch of the season, the Hawks handed the Cavaliers back-to-back losses by a double-digit margin. Trae Young scored 20 points, but recorded a new career high 22 assists in the 135-124 win, one short of tying Mookie Blaylock's Hawks record. DeAndre Hunter had 26 points of his own off the bench in one of his best performances of the season. He was not the only member of Atlanta's bench to make an impact. The bench unit scored 62 points behind a 17-point effort from Bogdan Bogdanovic and a 10-point effort from Onyeka Okongwu. Dyson Daniels, normally known for his steals, collected a 12 point, 10 rebound double-double while Zaccharie Risacher poured in 17 points of his own. It was also one of Atlanta's best shooting performances of the year. They were excellent from deep, getting up 42 threes and sinking 20 of them as they shot 48% from beyond the arc.

It was a complete team effort by the Hawks, but they needed to duplicate it against the same team two nights later. They did exactly that, continuing to shoot well from deep at 41% from beyond the arc. Once again, Atlanta's bench came through with big performances from Okongwu (15 points, seven rebounds) and DeAndre Hunter (23 points, six rebounds on 7-12 shooting from the field). The Hawks won this game in large part due to the excellent defense Daniels played on Cavs star Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell lit up the Hawks in their first matchup with 30 points on 10/24 shooting from the field, but things were much tougher in the rematch. He only had 12 points on a dismal 5-23 from the field because Daniels hounded him on the perimeter all game. The Hawks were less successful against Darius Garland (29 points) and Evan Mobley (24 points, 12 rebounds), but their stars also showed up. Jalen Johnson had a near triple-double with a 20 point, nine rebound and seven assist performance while Young collected another double-double (21 points, 11 assists). Credit for the win also must be partially attributed to the 13 boards that center Clint Capela pulled down as he dealt with the imposing double-big lineup of Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

They will find out who their quarterfinals opponent is in due time, but the team must pivot towards their matchup tomorrow against the Hornets. They have shown that they can compete with the best of the NBA and must now go on a run to establish themselves as a force in the Eastern Conference.