The Cavaliers have played more than a few games this season when they weren’t at their best but still scrapped their way to victory. The game with the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 27 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was one of those games in which they did not play well, but this time their mistakes caught up with them in the form of a 135-124 defeat. It was the Cavs’ first home loss (10-1) and just their second of the season. At 17-2. they still have the best record in the NBA. “We haven’t had a stinker yet this year,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “That was a stinker. That happens in the NBA. We kind of got what we deserved tonight.” Atkinson was not happy with the way the Cavaliers defended. The Hawks hit 20 of 42 3-pointers. They had 39 assists compared to 30 for the Cavaliers. The Cavs were 15-of-48 from long distance. The Cavaliers scored the first 10 points, expanded the lead to 30-11 with 4:38 left in the first quarter and then found themselves in a battle the rest of the way. The lead changed hands 10 times before it changed for the final time when Atlanta grabbed the lead for good, 112-109, on a bucket by De’Andre Hunter from 26 feet with 6:44 to play. “It’s natural for a team to have a level of complacency (after leading 30-11), but we’re not that group,” Donovan Mitchell said. “We went up by 40 over Golden State, the best team in the West, and we handled business. “We have to be better. When you get a lead like that, the game shouldn’t end the way it did, but give them credit. They outworked us.” Hunter scored a team-high 26 points for Atlanta, but the Hawks’ catalyst was Trae Young. Young scored 20 points and dished out 22 assists. Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 30 points. Evan Mobley added 22 points and 13 rebounds. The Hawks clawed their way to a brief 61-60 lead late in the second quarter before the Cavs regained the lead, 64-61 at halftime. Intermission did not cool off the Hawks (8-11), who lost three straight games before facing the Cavaliers. Dyson Daniels scored on a running layup with 3:49 left in the third quarter for a 90-85 Atlanta lead — the Hawks’ largest advantage of the night at that juncture. Atkinson called a judicious timeout. A 3-pointer from the right side by Sam Merrill and then a layup by Mobley plus the and-one gave the Cavs a 91-90 edge. But by the end of three quarters, the Hawks were back on top, 98-95. Shots didn’t drop for the Cavs in the first 36 minutes. They were an icy 12 of 37 on 3-pointers through three quarters. The Hawks, led by Hunter, were 16 of 33 on 3s. The Hawks were 4-of-9 on 3s in the fourth quarter. The entire night was a game of surges. Georges Niang scored on a floating jumper from eight feet and then Mitchell buried a 3 from deep in the right corner to start the fourth quarter and grab the lead back, 100-98. Next it was Atlanta’s turn. The Hawks built a 124-116 lead on a lay-up and free throw by Hunter with 2:44 to play. Ty Jerome stole the ball and hit a 3-pointer with 1:43 left to trim the Atlanta lead to 126-122. Young, with the 24-second clock winding down, hit a radar 3 from 38 feet with 1:23 remaining the next time down the floor for Atlanta. The Cavs were out of time and out of comebacks. The Cavs and Hawks play the second half of a home-and-home series Nov. 29 in Atlanta.