THE Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a late rally by the Hawks, scoring a 135-130 victory on Friday in Atlanta (Saturday, Manila time).
Kyrie Irving scored 43 points for the Cavaliers, who led by 25 early but saw it trimmed to a hairline, 124-123 before recovering to bounce back from a loss to the Boston Celtics.
Irving also had nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, who notched their 42nd win in 60 games.
LeBron James had 38 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Channing Frye had 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting, while Richard Jefferson came off the bench to match the output by also making 4 of 7 field goal attempts.
The Hawks saw their win streak end at two.
Tim Hardaway came off the bench to score 36, making five triples for Atlanta, which absorbed its 27th loss in 61 outings.
Paul Millsap had 27 points and was a rebound short of a double-double.