CLEVELAND –- Paul Millsap looked like he had seen a ghost. And he sounded like someone who tried to explain what it’s like to see one.
In other words, the Atlanta Hawks forward couldn’t believe or describe what he had just witnessed.
“What happened? Not a clue,” Millsap answered when asked what happened after the Cleveland Cavaliers shot themselves into the history books and the Hawks into a 2-0 deficit in this Eastern Conference semifinal series. “A lot of 3s ... I don’t know what else to say. I am still speechless.”
“I’m a man who believes anything is possible,” Millsap added. “And the impossible happened tonight.”
The Hawks looked shell-shocked after their 123-98 loss to the Cavaliers that was even more lopsided than the final score indicated. This is what a team looks like after it's buried alive under a historic avalanche of 3-pointers.
LeBron James and his Cavaliers drilled 25 3-pointers, setting an NBA record for most in a regular season or postseason game. The game was over for all intents and purposes after Cleveland came out making 18 of its first 27 3s in the first half, another NBA record.
Eighteen 3-pointers by halftime is a staggering number that is hard to wrap one’s head around. But try doing it from the Hawks’ perspective, as they watched Cleveland make more treys than Atlanta had total field goals (11) in the first half.
It was 3-point bomb after 3-point bomb. First, several came open on the perimeter, many in the corner, after the Cavaliers broke down the Hawks’ defense with penetration into the paint.
Then it just got stupid silly as J.R. Smith did what only a hot J.R. can do –- sink ridiculous off-balanced shots from deep with a man on him while falling backward. Smith drained 7 of 13 3-pointers and didn't even play in the fourth quarter.
“At one time, I think he had like his heel right above the out-of-bounds line and knocked it down,” said Hawks’ swingman Kent Bazemore, practically shaking his head. “... At one point in time, you are like, ‘All right, it’s gotta stop.’ And then two, three, four, five go in.
“They came out and hit like 12 3s in the first half, I guess,” Bazemore added. “It was crazy out there at one point in time.”
You can forgive Bazemore for not knowing the exact number of 3-pointers being dropped on his team’s head, each one stinging more and more until the Hawks just went numb.
By the time the Cleveland aerial assault was over, there were 10 Cavaliers who had made at least one trey. By comparison, the Hawks made a total of 11 3-pointers as a team.
The Hawks trailed 84-43 with 9:25 left in the third after -– you guessed it –- a 3-pointer by James. Kyle Korver said one of the strategies the Hawks had hoped to employ against James was to let him take outside shots rather than give him easy buckets in the paint and opportunities to draw fouls or kick it out to open shooters.
James, though, joined the 3-point party, making 4 of 6 from behind the arc. Heck, one of his missed attempts was a heat check from the edge of the Cavaliers’ logo near half court.
“At one point, they were making as many 3s as we were taking,” Bazemore said. “It is just one of those nights where you kind of roll out the birthday cake and see them in two days.”
Problem is, it felt like James and the Cavaliers blew the candles out on the Hawks’ season. Not only did James improve his personal undefeated postseason record against Atlanta to 10-0, but he and the Cavs put such a hurting on the Hawks that you wonder how Millsap and his teammates will recover.
The series is only 2-0 in favor of Cleveland, but it feels like it’s a formality considering how the Cavs swept the Hawks in the Eastern Conference finals last year -- and now this.
Atlanta can say that this is a different year but, sorry, there is a cumulative effect. James respects but doesn't fear the Hawks one bit, even admitting on the morning of Game 2 that he has thought about a potential reunion with the Miami Heat in the East finals.
The Hawks should've taken that personally. Instead, they retreat to Atlanta looking to make a last stand in Games 3 and 4 this weekend.
In Cleveland, the Hawks saw something they had never seen before on Wednesday night. Now they hope they don’t witness something they’ve become all too accustomed to seeing -– a playoff sweep at the hands of LeBron.
“They won two at their place and it is time for us to win two at our place,” Millsap said. “That has to be the mindset of the team. We have no choice right now. It is do or die.
“A loss is a loss,” Millsap added. “I don’t know what else to say. I am still speechless.”