Hawks clinch playoff spot while walloping Cavs

CJ McCollum scored 25 of his game-high 29 points in the first half and Dyson Daniels collected 13 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists as the Atlanta Hawks clinched a playoff spot with a 124-102 rout of the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

Jalen Johnson had 18 points and nine rebounds and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 18 for the Hawks (46-35), who will finish either fifth or sixth in the Eastern Conference. Southeast Division champion Atlanta missed the playoffs in the last two seasons.

Daniels posted his second career triple-double and McCollum drained 6-of-8 3-point attempts. The Hawks built a 92-59 lead in the third quarter, when Alexander-Walker and Johnson each had 11 points to deliver the knockout blow.

James Harden scored 20 points and dished out five assists, and Tyrese Proctor had 15 points in the final quarter for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers (51-30). Cleveland will have home-court advantage in the first round against either Atlanta or the Toronto Raptors.

The Cavaliers rested All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, starting center Jarrett Allen and small forward Sam Merrill. Power forward Jaylon Tyson had 15 points in his return from a 10-game absence with a bruised big left toe.

Harden became the seventh player to attempt 10,000 career free throws, reaching the milestone in the first when Cleveland briefly went up by five points. Lakers superstar LeBron James is the lone active player with more.

The Hawks, who are 20-8 since the All-Star break, would lose a tiebreaker with Toronto for fifth. Atlanta finishes the regular season at the Miami Heat, while the Raptors host the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

In the second, Daniels scored six straight points in an 8-0 run that gave the Hawks the lead for good at 43-35. They ended the first half on a 26-13 surge, fueled by McCollum's four 3-pointers in the final 3:09, to carry a 61-48 advantage into intermission.

Atlanta eventually went up by 36 points at 105-69 on a Jonathan Kuminga free throw.

The teams completed a home-and-home set that began Wednesday with a 122-116 victory by the Cavaliers. Cleveland and Atlanta split four games with the home team winning every time.

The Cavaliers had their four-game win streak snapped, but are 10-3 since March 17.

--Field Level Media