CLEVELAND _ The struggles defensively continued for the Cavaliers on Sunday night in their 2018-2019 home opener at Quicken Loans Arena.
After opening the season with losses at Toronto and Minnesota, each a playoff team last season, the Cavs returned to Cleveland and got schooled by the rebuilding Atlanta Hawks to the tune of 133-111.
Hawks rookie point guard Trae Young and friends overcame a 15-point deficit and ran away from the Cavs.
The Raptors feature veterans Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry.
The Timberwolves feature veterans Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins.
The Hawks, outside of 41-year-old Vince Carter, don't boast many experienced and playoff tested players in their rotation.
Young's final line was 35 points, 11 assists and two rebounds. Kent Bazemore (23 points), Omari Spellman (17 points), Alex Len (16 points, 11 rebounds), Taurean Prince (14 points) and DeAndre' Bembry (13 points) also reached double figures for the Hawks (1-2).
The Hawks overcame a slow start to outscore the Cavs by 32 points in the final three quarters.
The Cavs (0-3) also finished with six players in double figures _ Jordan Clarkson (19 points), George Hill (16 points), Kevin Love (16 points, 17 rebounds), Rodney Hood (13 points), Cedi Osman (12 points) and Tristan Thompson (11 points).
The Cavs allowed the Hawks to score 40 points in the second quarter on Sunday, continuing a trend of high scoring second quarters by their opponents. The host Raptors scored 32 points in the second quarter against the Cavs in the season opener, and then the host Timberwolves scored 39 points in the same quarter.
Things looked good for the home team as the Cavs jumped out to a 22-7 lead with 4:36 to go in the first quarter after an 11-0 run with Love scoring five points and Hill, Thompson and rookie point guard Collin Sexton each contributing a field goal.
The Cavs' advantage reached 34-24 at the end of the first quarter. Love scored 10 points in the opening 12 minutes by making 4-of-6 shots from the field and a free throw.
The second quarter was a different story. The Hawks erased their double-digit deficit and took a 64-60 halftime lead courtesy of a 26-11 run in the final seven minutes. Young scored 18 points in the second quarter and Bazemore dropped in 10 points.
The Hawks extended their lead in the third and fourth quarters.
Young made consecutive layups to give the Hawks a 73-64 advantage with 9:42 left in the third quarter. The rookie then found Len for a slam dunk moments later as the Hawks started to get comfortable offensively.
The fourth quarter featured a hungry Hawks squad running up and down the floor with little resistance. Kevin Huerter swished a 3-pointer with 9:24 to go in the fourth quarter to push the Hawks' lead to 102-91. Bazemore swished a 3-pointer with 7:55 left to make it 108-91.
Huerter finished with three 3-pointers for nine points and had 10 rebounds.
Sexton scored four points. Larry Nance Jr. made his season debut for the Cavs and totaled nine points, four rebounds and four assists after missing the first two games due to an ankle injury.
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