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| Phil Long/AP |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--So much for Cleveland's hot start.
The Cavaliers' 6-0 blitz to open their NBA title defense came to an end on Wednesday (Philippine Time) after the Atlanta Hawks dealt them a 106-110 defeat at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Atlanta turned up the heat in the third quarter, opening the period with five unanswered points to cap an 12-0 run to open a 58-42 lead, eventually stretching it to as high as 18 later in the third.
Cleveland would come to as close as two, 79-81, later in the third, but Atlanta once again stretched the lead to 15, 96-81, with 8:45 left in the fourth.
The Cavs would come to within two, 106-108, with 25.2 seconds left, but a dagger jumper from Kent Bazemore sealed the deal for the Hawks,
Dennis Schroder led Atlanta with 28 points, two rebounds, and six assists, while Bazemore added 25 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Kyrie Irving dropped 29 points, one rebound, four assists, one steal, and one block for Cleveland, which despite committing only six turnovers made only 37 percent from the field.
In Memphis, Marc Gasol scored the game-winning basket as the Grizzlies subdued the Denver Nuggets, 108-107.
Gasol received an alley-oop feed from Vince Carter, beating Emmauel Mudiay for the eye-in-the-sky play, and drilled a short jumper in at the final buzzer to send the home crowd to frenzy.
Gasol finished with 19 points to backstop Carter's 20-point output for Memphis, which won despite grabbing only 32 rebounds, with Gasol credited for only two.
Mudiay had 23 markers, four rebounds, and seven assists for Denver, which turned the ball over 22 times.
In Los Angeles, Harrison Barnes' hot scoring continued as he led the Dallas Mavericks to a 109-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Barnes, fresh from a 34-point outburst against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday (Philippine Time), dropped 31 on the Lakers, who saw their three-game winning streak snapped.
Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 22 points, two assists, and three steals.
In the other games, Brooklyn trounced Minnesota, 119-110, Portland downed Phoenix, 124-121, and Sacramento kept New Orleans without a win with a 102-94 win.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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