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Cavaliers complete shocking meltdown in OT loss to Hawks

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers squandered a 26-point lead in the fourth quarter on Sunday to complete an utter meltdown against the Atlanta Hawks.

The reigning champions would eventually lose 126-125 in overtime to slide back into a tie for first in the East with two games remaining in the season.

Credit the Hawks for an inspired effort and not throwing in the towel, but the Cavaliers did everything in their power to lose. In addition to uninspired offense and sloppy defense, Cleveland also reeled off a comedy of errors to produce their eventual embarrassment.

That starts with LeBron James, who committed a five-second violation, two shooting fouls, and tossed an inadvisable inbound pass to Kyrie Irving all within the final 20 seconds of regulation.

Several officiating mistakes also fed into the collapse. For one, Paul Millsap's buzzer-beating jumper to force OT came only after a jumpball was called when in fact two Hawks were standing out of bounds.

Later in the overtime period, James was called for his sixth foul despite minimal contact with Millsap.

Of course, the comeback would not have been possible without excellent play from the Hawks. They hung 59 points on the Cavaliers in the fourth and OT, using six threes, 17 free throws, and by forcing nine turnovers out of the Cavaliers when it mattered most.

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