Paul Millsap chases down Kevin Love on a certain transition basket, only to smash his weak shot attempt of the glass to give Atlanta back the basketball.
Off a missed three-point attempt by Atlanta Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder, Cleveland Cavaliers point forward gathers the rebounded and heaves a magnificent outlet pass to a wide-open Kevin Love near the hoop. Hawks’ All-Star power forward never gave up on the play and was able to stun Love with his blocked shot from behind in transition.
LeBron makes long full-court pass to Kevin Love, who has his shot blocked by Paul Millsap pic.twitter.com/ijxYgHIuQm
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) May 3, 2016
Millsap has become an absolute defensive stud in his 10th season in the NBA. He finished with a team best 96 defensive rating and finished fifth in NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2015-16.
In a year that has been all about defense for Atlanta, Millsap has been the undeniable anchor for the Hawks on their quest to prove that the 60-win 2014-15 NBA season was no fluke.
Atlanta finished with the second-best defense in the NBA in 2015-16 and will have to play outstanding basketball on that end of the floor to have a chance at beating the top-seed Cavaliers in their Eastern Conference Semifinals series.
Atlanta has not beaten Cleveland since the 2014-15 regular season. The Hawks were swept by the Cavaliers in the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals and lost all three of their head-to-head meetings in 2015-16. The Hawks will have to win with defense. Can they do it?
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