The Atlanta Hawks (49 - 12) asserted their dominance as the top team in the East on Friday by beating the fourth - place Cleveland Cavaliers (39 - 25) 106 - 97 on Friday. As usual, it was a team effort that gave the Hawks the win, with seven players finishing in double digits, including Dennis Schroder's 15 points and eight assists in 24 minutes off the bench. Despite playing a somewhat limited role off the bench, Schroder has averaged 16 points and 9 assists in just 29 minutes per game over his last three outings. The Hawks do n't have an MVP candidate on their roster, but if they keep beating the other top teams in the NBA, it makes the idea of extending the Player of the Month Award that was given to the entire starting five for their perfect 170 run in January an intriguing notion to suggest for the MVP award that is historically only given to one player. They have an 11 - game lead on the second - place Chicago Bulls, and they're the only team in the NBA to already have a playoff spot secured. The Cavaliers are no slouches, but they've struggled a little lately, winning just two of their last five games. They had trouble protecting the ball Friday, as Kyrie Irving coughed up the ball five times, and LeBron James tied his career high for turnovers in regulation by losing the ball nine times. The Hawks forced a lot of those turnovers with great pressure defense to force the ball out of the Cavs' playmakers' hands, and they scored 20 easy points off the Cavs' 18 turnovers. While King James struggled, James Harden was busy putting up a triple - double on the Detroit Pistons on Friday, as both players remain two of the top players in consideration for the MVP award this season, and the narratives about who is more deserving change from night to night as they trade off impressive performances. Cleveland will return home to host the Suns on Saturday, and the Hawks go on the road to face the 76ers on Saturday.
["TeamStat(G,'Hawks') has 12 Losses ,has 106 Total points ,has 49 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Cavaliers') has 25 Losses ,has 97 Total points ,has 39 Wins ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'LeBron James') has 5 Assists ,has 5 Defensive rebounds ,has 2 3-pointers attempted ,has 9 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kyrie Irving') has 5 Assists ,has 5 Defensive rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Dennis Schroder') has 8 Assists ,has 24 Defensive rebounds ,has 15 3-pointers attempted ."]