ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks topped their stunning short-handed victory in Cleveland with a 26-point fourth-quarter comeback on Sunday to shock the Cavaliers in overtime.

Asked which victory was more satisfying, Atlanta guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said, "This one. But any time you beat the defending NBA champions, it's huge, no matter the circumstances."

It was just the third time in NBA history that a team overcame a deficit of 26 or more points in the fourth quarter and won. Milwaukee rallied from a 28-point deficit in 1977, and the Los Angeles Lakers won despite a 27-point disadvantage in 2002.

The Hawks, who never led until overtime, took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Mike Muscala with 35 seconds left and shocked the Cavaliers 126-125.

Cleveland led 93-67 after the third quarter, but the Hawks outscored the Cavaliers 44-18 in the fourth and tied it at 111 on Paul Millsap's short jumper at the buzzer after Atlanta won a jump ball.

"A fourth quarter like that is hard to explain," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said.

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said, "Everything went wrong for us in that fourth quarter, I mean every single thing."

The Cavaliers lost despite getting 45 points from Kyrie Irving, who made 8 of 12 3-point attempts, and 32 points from LeBron James. However, James, who also had 16 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double, fouled out with just under two minutes remaining in overtime.

"It wasn't a foul," said James, who also voiced his displeasure after the game with a couple of other calls and not getting a timeout granted.

The Cavaliers (51-29) dropped into a tie with the Boston Celtics (51-29) for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, although Cleveland owns the tiebreaker. Both teams have two games remaining.

"For me, it's never been about trying to get the No. 1 seed," James said.

James and the Cavaliers, though, want to be playing good basketball at the end of the regular season and that isn't the case right now.

Lue said of the late collapse, "That should never happen, especially when we are such a great offensive team, to be outscored by 26 points in a quarter."

The Hawks' bench, though, produced a 9-0 run to start the fourth and the Cavaliers hurt themselves with seven turnovers in the period, many of them late.

One of Cleveland's two turnovers in overtime came on a steal by Kent Bazemore that was converted into a basket with 22 seconds left, and Hardaway made two clinching free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining.

The Hawks won 114-100 at Cleveland on Friday without five regulars but were no match for the Cavaliers in the rematch until the fourth quarter despite having all except one of the players back.

Millsap finished with 22 points and Hardaway scored 21. Dwight Howard had 19 points for the Hawks, but didn't play after the third quarter as subs who played so well in extended minutes at Cleveland created a spark this time.

Muscala had all 12 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime, making both his 3-point attempts and 5 of 6 shots overall.

Millsap, who didn't play at Cleveland, scored 18 of his 22 points after halftime and Hardaway scored 15 of his 21.

Disagreeing a bit with Hardaway, Millsap ranked the victories over the Cavaliers differently.

"It's probably the second-best game I've seen by the Hawks, the first one being (Friday) against Cleveland, what our reserves did," Millsap said.

The victory gave Atlanta (42-38) a one-game lead over Milwaukee (41-39) for the fifth seed in the East. The Hawks also own the tiebreaker against the Bucks with two games remaining for both teams.

The Cavaliers, who set an NBA record with 25 3-point baskets in Atlanta on March 3, hit their first three treys and had seven in going up 38-21 after the first quarter.

Cleveland was ahead 65-46 at halftime and in control as Irving had 19 points. James did it all with 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The Cavaliers continued to dominate through the third quarter, but then everything changed.

"At the start of the fourth, we didn't get no stops," James said. "When you let a team stick around, this is what happens.

"Obviously, this has been a very challenging year for us, but we've got two more games and then get ready (for the playoffs). ... We've had some good moments and some not-so-good moments, like today."

NOTES: Cavaliers F/C Tristan Thompson missed his third consecutive game because of a sprained right thumb and is doubtful for Monday at Miami. ... Cleveland cleared a roster spot for a late addition by waiving G/F DeAndre Liggins, who started 19 games this season while G J.R. Smith was out. A player must be signed by Wednesday to be eligible for the playoffs and GM David Griffin indicated Sunday that the team would do so. ... The Hawks, minus five regulars on Friday in Cleveland, were at full strength except for G/F Thabo Sefolosha (groin). ... The Cavaliers finish the regular season at home against Toronto on Wednesday. ... The Hawks, who clinched a 10th straight playoff berth on Saturday without playing, host Charlotte on Tuesday before closing the regular season on Wednesday at Indiana.