De’Andre Hunter scored 23 points off the bench as the Atlanta Hawks earned another NBA victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday – their second in two days over the Eastern Conference leaders.

The Hawks, who handed the Cavs their first home loss of the season on Wednesday, emerged victorious at home, turning a 52-50 halftime lead into a 117-101 triumph.

Trae Young scored 21 points and had 11 assists, and Jalen Johnson added 20 points for Atlanta, which had six players score in double figures.

Darius Garland scored 29 points for Cleveland and Evan Mobley added 24 points for the Cavs, who opened the season with a 15-0 win and still have the league’s best record at 17-3.

The Hawks held Cavs star Donovan Mitchell to 12 points and outscored Cleveland 39-23 in the third quarter to finally take control of the contest, which was one of 10 NBA Cup group stage games scheduled for Thanksgiving Friday.

The New York Knicks, buoyed by Jalen Brunson’s fourth-quarter heroics, improved to 3-0 in Cup play with a 99-98 victory over the Hornets in Charlotte.

The Hornets competed despite missing five of their top six scorers: LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Tre Mann, Grant Williams, Mark Williams and Nick Richards were all sidelined.

“From the outside you think they got some key players out so this should be an easy game. That’s not how the NBA works,” New York’s Josh Hart told reporters after the game.

“When guys are out there attacking other guys, they go out there and are aggressive because they have nothing to lose, so sometimes that’s the toughest game.”

“So we’re able to come out with a ‘W’ and end a long road trip with a win. Now let’s move on.”

Brunson scored 11 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, hitting two free throws with 8.6 seconds left to push New York’s lead to four points before Josh Green made a 3-pointer for Charlotte as time expired.

BB/everywhere