ATLANTA _ The Cavaliers had a point to make.
And they made it early.
The Hawks had a point to make.
And they made it late.
The Hawks overcame a 26-point deficit to force overtime and stunned the Cavaliers _ again _ with a 126-125 victory Sunday afternoon at Philips Arena.
Mike Muscala hit a corner 3-pointer with 35.3 seconds left to give the Hawks a 121-120 lead. Kent Bazemore followed with a steal and layup on the ensuing possession. Tim Hardaway sealed the game with three free throws in the final 12 seconds. Kyrie Irving hit a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 19 points in the first quarter. They had payback on the mind two days after the Hawks, minus five starters, stunned the Cavaliers 114-100 in Cleveland on Friday.
The Hawks made a furious fourth-quarter comeback outscoring the Cavaliers 44-18 to force overtime on a Millsap buzzer beater at the end of regulation.
The Hawks (42-38) trailed by as many as 26 points and the Cavaliers led wire-to-wire before Millsap tied the game.
Millsap led the Hawks with 22 points. Hardaway added 21 points and Dwight Howard had 19 points despite not playing the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Hawks used a 19-5 run to start the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to 12 points, 98-86. They got as close as four points, 109-105, with 52.6 seconds remaining. The Hawks got the ball back with 18.7 seconds left after the Cavaliers were called for a five-second violation inbounding the ball. Hardaway made a free throw with 13 seconds left to make it a three-point game, 109-106. Kyrie Irving made two free throws with 10.4 seconds left to thwart the Hawks' comeback. Millsap made three free throws with eight seconds left for a 111-109 deficit. The Hawks got a jump ball with 4.9 seconds left. After a scramble, Millsap gain control and hit a fade-away baseline jump at the buzzer to tie the game at 111 and send the game into overtime.
The Cavaliers (51-29) were led by Kyrie Irving with a game-high 45 points and LeBron James had a triple-double with 32 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists before he fouled in overtime.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 21 point in the first half and took a 65-46 advantage into intermission. The Cavaliers started quickly as they made 7 of their first 11 shot attempts, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
Irving had 19 points for the Cavaliers and Howard had 17 points for the Hawks through two quarters.
The Cavaliers upped their lead to 26 points as they ended the third quarter with a 93-67 lead.
The Hawks host the Hornets on Tuesday and play at the Pacers on Wednesday to end the regular season.
