Donovan Mitchell believes the Cleveland Cavaliers made a "statement" with their win over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.

The Cavaliers lost back-to-back games against the Hawks in November but rallied to a 137-115 win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Darius Garland, named among the NBA All-Star reserves ahead of the game, led the team with 26 points and seven assists, with Mitchell adding 24 with a further 20 from Ty Jerome.

Hawks rookie Zaccharie Risacher, the number one overall draft pick, scored 30 points and De’Andre Hunter had 25 points and made all 12 of his free throws, but it was not enough to stop Cleveland from extending their record to 39-9.

"Anytime a team beats you twice back-to-back, the way they did it, we didn't feel like we played our best basketball, but you've got to give them credit for both times they beat us," Mitchell said in his on-court interview.

"So, we wanted to make a statement, especially now that we got our two All-Stars in there. That's a big moment, so shout out to Darius and Evan [Mobley].

"This was a big night. We got in late, we didn't get much sleep, but for us, it's about continuing being the team we want to be, and we did that."

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The Cavaliers have three All-Stars for the fourth time in franchise history in Mitchell, Garland and Mobley, who finished with 16 points against the Hawks.

Garland received his first All-Star nod in 2021-22, but despite posting similar numbers the following season, he was not picked, while facial injuries hampered his run last season.

"He [Garland] took the summer, took all the criticism, took all that stuff, whether it was warranted or not, which I feel like it wasn't," Mitchell said.

"We all did, but he went into the lab, got back to what he does, got his joy back, his confidence back, and now he's playing like an All-Star guard. Now look at him."