Hawks-Cavaliers Tip Time Moved for WNBA Finals Game 6 at State Farm Arena

The Atlanta Hawks will not tip off against the Cleveland Cavaliers until 8 p.m. ET on Thursday.

That game was a 7 p.m. start until Monday, when ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported, citing sources, that it would move back an hour so the Atlanta Dream could host Game 6 of the WNBA Finals in the same building that afternoon.

The Dream and Golden State Valkyries tip at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Without a change, Game 6 would have gone to Gateway Center Arena, the Dream’s 3,500-seat regular-season home in College Park.

This will be the second WNBA-NBA doubleheader at State Farm Arena in six days.

On Saturday, the Dream and Valkyries played Game 4 at 1 p.m. ET, and the Hawks’ home opener against the Houston Rockets tipped 30 minutes later than planned, at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Atlanta had come home 2-0 after a 132-125 win at Orlando in the opener and a 128-81 win at Charlotte on Oct. 23.

Houston led by as many as 20 and won 121-114. Jalen Johnson had 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 16 assists in the loss, while Dyson Daniels went 8-of-11 from the field for 18.

Game 3 of the Finals was played at State Farm Arena that same Wednesday, Oct. 21, after being moved up a day from Thursday.

Before Monday’s decision, the NBA had worked with both teams on moving Thursday’s game to another date, or even to Cleveland, sources told ESPN on Sunday.

“There are problems with all the solutions,” one source close to the situation told ESPN.

Atlanta hosts the Miami Heat on Wednesday, so a move to Cleveland would have sent the Hawks on the road the next night, and the Cavaliers would have been staging a home game with a few days’ notice.

Hawks-Cavaliers is a non-Cup game, and ESPN reported that NBA Fridays are exclusive to Cup games.

Some involved in the talks wanted the NBA to move its regular-season game and give the Finals priority, sources said. Others pushed back on the domino effects.

Hawks CEO Steve Koonin, who also heads State Farm Arena, told 92.9 The Game the arena had offered several Game 6 dates. Whether to use one was up to the league, Koonin said.

The Hawks and the Dream do not share an ownership group. Atlanta had expressed a desire to help host the Finals again, as it did for Games 3 and 4, sources said.

The other option under strong consideration would have left the Hawks’ schedule alone.

Under that plan, Game 6 would have taken State Farm Arena’s open Friday, Oct. 30, with any Game 7 pushed to Nov. 3 in San Francisco.

“The fact we are making these decisions so we can play a WNBA game at a larger arena is the best news of all,” another source told ESPN. “It just has to be scheduled better in advance. Moving games is much harder now than it would have been a week ago.”

Starting in 2027, the Dream will play all of their home games at State Farm Arena, the team announced earlier this month.

Thursday is the second night of a back-to-back for Atlanta, with the Miami game set for 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

The Hawks first visit Houston on Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Cleveland is 1-1. It lost 114-106 at Philadelphia in its opener, beat Brooklyn 125-121 at home two nights later, and hosts Minnesota on Monday.

Washington visits the Cavaliers on Wednesday before they travel to Atlanta. From there, it is on to Milwaukee for an 8 p.m. ET game Saturday.

Atlanta’s next game after Thursday is Saturday in New Orleans at 7 p.m. ET.