Jeff Teague scored a career-high 27 points in the Atlanta Hawks' 102-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"I'd like to take credit for it, but I can't," the Associated Press quoted Atlanta coach Larry Drew as saying. "He just came out and played. When he plays with that energy, he makes us a much better team."
Teague, who also had eight assists and two steals, helped Atlanta to their third consecutive win and with it improve their record on the road to 8-4.
"Jeff was great tonight," Hawks center Zaza Pachulia said. "This was the best game in his career. He scored my jersey number (27). We need Jeff to play like this."
Lou Williams finished with 16 points and five rebounds for the Hawks, while Al Horford scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Anthony Tolliver contributed 13 points in five of seven shooting.
For the Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving was the top scorer with 28 points, five assists, six rebounds and four steals, while Dion Waiters added 18 points, four assists and six rebounds.
The Cavaliers outscored the Hawks in the first quarter, but were trumped by Atlanta 30-28 in the second.
In the third quarter, Cleveland scored 26 and allowed the Hawks to add only 20.
In the decisive fourth quarter, Irving drove to the basket to give the Cavaliers a 94-93 lead, but after that the Hawks completely shut Cleveland down.
"I wasn't really happy with the execution the last two or three minutes," Scott said. "That's an understatement and I let them know."
Teague made a jumper to take the score to 95-94 in the Hawks' favor with 2:53 to play. Teague and the Hawks then took over in the final minutes, not allowing the Cavaliers to find a way back into the game.
"I was just being aggressive," Teague said. "Coach pulled me aside after the Philly game and told me to bring more energy."
Kyle Korver and Horford shot a 3-pointer each to extend the Hawks' lead and give their side a victory.
"This is a big win for our club," Drew said. "We were short-handed and played a team in Cleveland that has been playing well and probably had some confidence coming into this game."
The Cavaliers missed their center Anderson Varejao, who was out because of a knee injury for a fifth straight game. Atlanta's Anthony Morrow had to leave field because of a strained right hip in the second quarter.
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