Through 3 Quarters

Down 15 at the end of last quarter, the Atlanta Hawks have now snagged the lead. After three quarters neither squad has the game in the bag, but the Hawks lead 92-88 over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Atlanta has been relying on center Clint Capela, who has dropped a double-double on 20 rebounds and 14 points in addition to four blocks, and point guard Trae Young, who has posted a double-double on 23 points and 11 dimes. This makes it three consecutive games in which Capela has had at least 15 rebounds.

Cleveland has been relying on the performance of power forward Kevin Love, who has shot 5-for-9 from beyond the arc and has recorded 24 points and six boards.

Cleveland hasn't lost 86% of the games in which they were down heading into the final period this year, so a win here would be refreshing.

Who's Playing

Atlanta @ Cleveland

Current Records: Atlanta 15-19; Cleveland 20-15

What to Know

The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting right back to it as they host the Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 p.m. ET Dec. 31 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Given that these two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.

Cleveland's 2021 ended with a 110-93 loss against the Washington Wizards on Thursday. The Cavaliers were down 91-72 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. Cleveland's defeat came about despite a quality game from power forward Kevin Love, who posted a double-double on 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Atlanta's 2021 ended with a 131-117 loss against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. Atlanta's defeat came about despite a quality game from center Clint Capela, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 15 boards.

Barring any buzzer beaters, Cleveland is expected to win a tight contest Friday. They have been consistent moneymakers against the spread when favored (9-1), so they might be worth a quick bet.

Cleveland is now 20-15 while Atlanta sits at 15-19. Two stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: The Cavaliers enter the matchup with only 17 fouls per game on average, which is the best in the league. The Hawks are not quite as good, but they are no chumps, either: they rank third in the league when it comes to fouls per game, with only 17.6 on average.

How To Watch

  • When: Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse -- Cleveland, Ohio
  • TV: Bally Sports - Ohio
  • Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
  • Follow: CBS Sports App
  • Ticket Cost: $22.00

Odds

The Cavaliers are a slight 1.5-point favorite against the Hawks, according to the latest NBA odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Cavaliers as a 1-point favorite.

Over/Under: -110

See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get picks now.

Series History

Cleveland have won 17 out of their last 24 games against Atlanta.

  • Oct 23, 2021 - Cleveland 101 vs. Atlanta 95
  • Mar 14, 2021 - Atlanta 100 vs. Cleveland 82
  • Feb 23, 2021 - Cleveland 112 vs. Atlanta 111
  • Jan 02, 2021 - Cleveland 96 vs. Atlanta 91
  • Feb 12, 2020 - Cleveland 127 vs. Atlanta 105
  • Dec 23, 2019 - Cleveland 121 vs. Atlanta 118
  • Dec 29, 2018 - Atlanta 111 vs. Cleveland 108
  • Oct 30, 2018 - Cleveland 136 vs. Atlanta 114
  • Oct 21, 2018 - Atlanta 133 vs. Cleveland 111
  • Feb 09, 2018 - Cleveland 123 vs. Atlanta 107
  • Dec 12, 2017 - Cleveland 123 vs. Atlanta 114
  • Nov 30, 2017 - Cleveland 121 vs. Atlanta 114
  • Nov 05, 2017 - Atlanta 117 vs. Cleveland 115
  • Apr 09, 2017 - Atlanta 126 vs. Cleveland 125
  • Apr 07, 2017 - Atlanta 114 vs. Cleveland 100
  • Mar 03, 2017 - Cleveland 135 vs. Atlanta 130
  • Nov 08, 2016 - Atlanta 110 vs. Cleveland 106
  • May 08, 2016 - Cleveland 100 vs. Atlanta 99
  • May 06, 2016 - Cleveland 121 vs. Atlanta 108
  • May 04, 2016 - Cleveland 123 vs. Atlanta 98
  • May 02, 2016 - Cleveland 104 vs. Atlanta 93
  • Apr 11, 2016 - Cleveland 109 vs. Atlanta 94
  • Apr 01, 2016 - Cleveland 110 vs. Atlanta 108
  • Nov 21, 2015 - Cleveland 109 vs. Atlanta 97

Injury Report for Cleveland

  • Jarrett Allen: Game-Time Decision (Covid-19)
  • Cedi Osman: Out (Covid-19)
  • Darius Garland: Out (Covid-19)
  • Ricky Rubio: Out for the Season (Knee)
  • Collin Sexton: Out for the Season (Knee)

Injury Report for Atlanta

  • Danilo Gallinari: Out (Covid-19)
  • Gorgui Dieng: Out (Covid-19)
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic: Out (Covid-19)
  • Malik Ellison: Out (Covid-19)
  • Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot: Out (Covid-19)
  • Kevin Huerter: Out (Covid-19)
  • De'Andre Hunter: Out (Wrist)
  • Sharife Cooper: Out (Covid-19)
  • John Collins: Out (Covid-19)
  • Onyeka Okongwu: Out (Covid-19)
  • Jalen Johnson: Out (Covid-19)
  • Malcolm Hill: Out (Covid-19)
  • Delon Wright: Out (Covid-19)
  • Solomon Hill: Out for the Season (Hamstring)