It wasn’t exactly a rematch of the East Finals, but for the first matchup of the preseason, the conference’s two heavyweights from one year ago went at it pretty good.
After running out to an early lead, the Hawks took a 13-point edge midway through the third quarter. But Cleveland closed the quarter on a 13-4 run to make it a sprint to the finish in the fourth. In the final period, Camp invitee Austin Daye was blistering from beyond the arc, netting all 12 of his points in the closing quarter. But it wasn’t enough to catch the Hawks, who held on for the 98-96 win on Wednesday night in Cincinnati.