Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley made quite a statement in the first part of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ home-and-home set with the Atlanta Hawks, combining for 53 points and 26 rebounds Wednesday in a 122-116 victory.

It’s now the Hawks’ turn to host. And there is significantly more pressure on them as the Eastern Conference teams meet Friday in Georgia.

Cleveland (51-29) will either finish third or fourth in the East, but fifth-place Atlanta (45-35) must win one of its final two games in order to clinch a playoff berth. Falling out of the top six — and into the play-in tournament — is a concern for the Hawks.

“If we can get in the playoffs, I don’t think we care who we play,” said Atlanta coach Quin Snyder, whose club is 25-10 since Jan. 21. “We just want to get in there, truly. We’ve got a new group since midseason. Let’s see what we can do.”

The Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic are both within a game of the Hawks, who would win a tiebreaker over the Magic and lose one to the Raptors. If Atlanta remains in fifth, it likely will face the Cavaliers in the first round.

Resting All-Star power forward Jalen Johnson, aggressive shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker or defensive ace Dyson Daniels in the regular-season finale is not an option, unless the Hawks win the rematch.

Cleveland, on the other hand, plans on keeping all of its key players in street clothes for the next two games to avoid potential injuries.

“I think both teams were trying to send a message in this first one,” said Mitchell, who is dealing with an ankle injury. “It’s not the playoffs yet, but that was playoff intensity that you could feel in the arena. It was live.”

Alexander-Walker scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, but Johnson and Daniels both fouled out down the stretch. Mitchell and James Harden wore them out by repeatedly attacking the basket.

Mitchell finished with 31 points, including four free throws in the last 92 seconds after Atlanta pulled within 118-116. Reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Mobley racked up 22 points, a career-high-tying 19 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Mobley and Mitchell were both a plus-20 and the main reason why the Cavaliers held on for the win, despite blowing almost all of a 105-87 lead in the final 11 minutes.

“Evan played with such great force tonight,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I know it’s not perfect, but rebounding the ball and getting into the paint, I thought he was great.”

Cleveland won both matchups at home, while the Hawks were a 130-123 winner on Nov. 28. CJ McCollum and Jonathan Kuminga hadn’t been acquired by Atlanta when the first two games were played last calendar year.

Harden also wasn’t with the Cavaliers, who are 19-6 with him in the lineup since ending his contentious stint with the Los Angeles Clippers. He scored 21 points Wednesday.

“They’re really good because James can play different ways for them,” Snyder said. “He can play in transition, have a 15-16 assist night, and he can score when it’s needed. That combination with Donovan has made Cleveland even tougher to play.”

Atlanta is in great shape physically, with the exception of backup center Jock Landale (right high ankle sprain). Landale was the victim of a flagrant foul by Goga Bitadze of the Orlando Magic on April 1, suffering the injury that will keep him out for 3-6 weeks.

Landale is in a walking boot from what Snyder termed “a dirty play” and could wind up missing the entire postseason.

“Part of him probably wants to play in the boot he’s in,” Snyder said, managing a weak smile. “But in Jock’s case, with that injury, you don’t know how long he’s going to be out. He’s going to do everything to get back as soon as he can.”

–Field Level Media

Right-hander Landen Roupp will try to build on a 20-inning scoreless streak for San Francisco’s pitching staff as the Giants open a nine-game road trip at Baltimore on Friday night.

San Francisco, which won just three times in its first 11 games under first-year manager Tony Vitello, bounced back to post back-to-back shutout wins over the Philadelphia Phillies before departing on the 11-day eastern trip, which also includes three-game stops at Cincinnati and Washington.

Roupp (1-1, 4.22 ERA), who has never faced the Orioles in his career, was brilliant in his season debut on March 30 at San Diego, allowing just two hits and striking out seven over six shutout innings in a 3-2 victory over the Padres. However, he followed that up by allowing seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings in a 9-0 loss to the visiting New York Mets on Saturday.

Roupp didn’t get much help from his defense, which committed three errors in that loss. He struck out seven, including the first four batters he faced on 22 pitches.

“I definitely think Landen threw better than what the box score says,” Vitello said afterward. “On defense, we can certainly do better.”

The Giants take a two-game winning streak into the contest after a 5-0 win over the Phillies on Wednesday. Right-hander Tyler Mahle allowed three hits over 5 2/3 innings while Rafael Devers, batting just .196 entering the contest, went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, including a 411-foot, three-run homer to center that broke a 0-0 tie in the sixth inning.

“It’d be awesome to be in a better situation, but I think we found some things out about ourselves that can be valuable in the long run,” Vitello said of his team’s disappointing 5-8 start. “We’re playing pretty decent ball right now.”

Baltimore will start right-hander Shane Baz (0-0, 4.09 ERA), who will be making his first career appearance against the Giants.

The Orioles return home for a six-game homestand following a topsy-turvy 3-3 road trip that began with getting swept in three contests at Pittsburgh. Baltimore then bounced back to sweep a three-game series with the White Sox in Chicago to get back to .500 (6-6) for the season.

“It’s a long season. It’s a marathon,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “There’s going to be ups and downs. No need to panic after a tough series in Pittsburgh. Our guys are keeping their heads down with a one-day approach and every single day show up at the field and continue to get better and compete.”

One big bright spot so far for Baltimore has been the play of outfielder Taylor Ward.

Ward, obtained in an offseason trade with the Los Angeles Angels for pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, went 4-for-5 with three doubles and two RBIs in Wednesday’s 5-3 victory. He leads the league in doubles with nine and is second with a .383 batting average.

Ward, who never had a four-hit game in eight seasons with the Angels, has had two in his last eight games.

“I guess it’s something in the water,” Ward joked. “It feels good. I’m seeing it well. I think the biggest thing is just trusting my work in the cage and really working on my (bat) path, and make sure I’m behind the ball as long as possible.”

“Just great at-bats,” Albernaz said of Ward’s hot start. “He grinds out at-bats. He makes pitchers work, forces them into the strike zone. Lays off pitches out of the strike zone, and he gets his swing off. It’s been fun to watch.”

–Field Level Media

The Milwaukee Brewers will look to bounce back from a pair of road losses behind right-hander Chad Patrick when they return home to face the Washington Nationals on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.

Patrick (1-0, 0.96 ERA) will be opposed by right-hander Jake Irvin (1-1, 8.00) as the Brewers face a National League opponent for the first time after opening with 12 games against American League teams.

The Brewers, who were idle Thursday, dropped the final two games in Boston, including a 5-0 defeat on Wednesday to lose their first series of the season. Milwaukee managed just four hits off veteran Sonny Gray and three relievers.

Washington, which also was off Thursday, lost at St. Louis 6-1 on Wednesday for its seventh loss in eight games.

Patrick has been effective in each of his first two starts, allowing one run on five hits in 4 1/3 innings his first time out as Milwaukee beat the visiting Chicago White Sox 6-1 on March 28. That was followed by four hits over five scoreless innings in his last start, a 5-2 win on Saturday at Kansas City.

“Five innings … he’ll be the first to admit he did not have his best location, he didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said following Patrick’s last start. “It’s more of a positive than anybody could know when you don’t have your best stuff and get through it.”

Patrick has struck out seven and walked four in 9 1/3 innings, allowing one home run.

Brewers veteran Christian Yelich is off to a hot start, hitting a team-leading .372 with two doubles, one triple, one homer and 10 RBIs. Speedy outfielder Garrett Mitchell, who missed almost all of last season with a left oblique strain, is hitting .310 with a team-high 13 RBI.

The Brewers also lead the majors with 23 stolen bases in 27 attempts.

Brewers second baseman Brice Turang missed the final two games of the Red Sox series with left ankle tendinitis.

“We’re just trying to get me off my feet for a couple days,” Turang said on Wednesday. “This rolls into an off day, so it will be three days and then I’ll be ready to roll on Friday. Just trying to get it knocked out, get it out of the foot.”

After a solid first start in defeating the host Chicago Cubs on March 29, Irvin struggled his last time out, allowing six runs on eight hits in four innings in a 10-5 home loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

“Overall, these guys were jumping on him pretty early in counts,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said following Irvin’s last start. “He never seemed to be comfortable out there.”

Irvin has had little success against the Brewers, going 0-5 with a 6.59 ERA in six career starts against them, allowing five homers and 15 walks in 28 2/3 innings.

The Nationals have the worst team ERA in the majors at 6.06 over 12 games. On the offensive side, the Nationals are tied for third with 16 homers and fourth in team batting average at .266 as of Thursday afternoon.

Shortstop CJ Abrams is hitting .286 and leads Washington with four homers and 14 RBI. James Wood also has four homers with 10 RBI, but the outfielder is hitting just .216 with 18 strikeouts in 51 at-bats.

–Field Level Media