Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley Secure Fourth Place in the East Against the Hawks

The Cleveland Cavaliers earned their fourth consecutive victory by defeating the Atlanta Hawks 122-116 on Wednesday night. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley were the architects of this win, helping their team solidify its position in the playoff race.

Mitchell once again demonstrated his importance to the Cavaliers with 31 points. The star guard played his 200th regular season game with at least 20 points in four seasons wearing the Cleveland jersey, becoming the fifth player in franchise history to reach that milestone.

Donovan Mitchell 31 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 1 BLK, 12/19 FG, 6/6 FTS, 71.6% TS vs Hawks pic.twitter.com/T5ClI5uQSH https://t.co/PmYq1omFzw

— Basketball Performances (@NBAPerformances) April 9, 2026

Mobley Dominant on the Boards, Cavaliers Take Control

Evan Mobley delivered a remarkable performance with 22 points and 19 rebounds, matching his personal record on the boards. James Harden also contributed with 21 points, allowing the Cavaliers to string together a seventh win in eight games.

With a record of 51 wins and 29 losses, Cleveland can no longer finish lower than fourth place in the Eastern Conference and remains half a game behind New York for third place. The Hawks, despite 25 points from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and 24 points from bench contributor Jonathan Kuminga, missed the opportunity to clinch a direct playoff berth.

The game turned in the third quarter, where Cleveland outscored Atlanta 44-20 to build a 104-87 lead. Despite a late Hawks surge with an 18-2 run that brought them within 118-116, the Cavaliers held on thanks to Mitchell‘s free throws in the closing moments.

Atlanta (45-35) remains well-positioned with a one-game lead over Toronto for fifth place, but only a game and a half ahead of Orlando to avoid the play-in tournament. The two teams will meet again on Friday in Atlanta for their fourth and final regular season matchup.