On Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder played in a thrilling game that could be a preview of this year’s NBA Finals. Cleveland won 129-122 and extended their win streak to 11 games, snapping OKC’s 15-game winning streak in the process. It was only the third time in NBA history that two teams with double-digit win streaks faced off in the regular season.
Wednesday’s matchup against the top teams in each conference featured 30 different lead changes and eight ties. Throughout the first three and a half quarters, the Cavs and Thunder traded buckets, and neither team gained a clear advantage.
Cleveland found themselves up three with less than 90 seconds to go, and after challenging a foul call on Donovan Mitchell, they got the ball back with a chance to ice the game. Evan Mobley then hit a jump shot to take their lead up to five, and the Cavs never looked back. They outscored the Thunder by six points in the all-important fourth quarter and were able to walk away with a win against the first seed in the Western Conference.
“It’s so awesome,” Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said of the energy in the arena. “It’s like you’re in the NCAA tournament. It’s like, ‘Man, we got here.’ There’s that type of buzz.”
It was an off-night for Cleveland star Mitchell, who had only 11 points on 3/16 shooting in what was his second-lowest scoring game of the year. His shots weren’t falling all night, but he had that key foul call reversed, which allowed the team to close out the win. Jarrett Allen led the way for the Cavs, as the center had 25 points on 9/11 shooting, 11 rebounds, and six assists, battling for loose balls and generating foul calls.
Mobley also played great for Cleveland, finishing with a similar stat line of 21 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists while making the key shot late in the game. Both Allen and Mobley were perhaps the biggest factors in the Cavs coming out on top.
Darius Garland had 18 points and seven assists, along with Mobley, is starting to come into form as a difference-maker and vital piece in Cleveland’s success this season. Ty Jerome and Max Strus were also crucial off the bench, as a duo combining for 32 points on 12/14 shooting, including five three-pointers from Strus in a run that helped the Cavaliers take a late-game lead.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder in scoring with 31 points on 13/27 shooting. Isaiah Hartenstein had one of the best all-around games of his career, ending the night with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists against both Allen and Mobley in a great battle of the big men. Jalen Williams had 25 points and nine assists, Cason Wallace had 15 points, and Aaron Wiggins had 11 as the only other Thunder players to score more than ten points.
Both teams shot above 50% and combined for 71 assists on 95 made shots. Oklahoma City’s largest lead was nine, and the Cavaliers’ largest was seven, which came in the game’s closing stages. In what was a potential NBA Finals matchup with the two top teams in the league, it was everything fans could have asked for, plus more. Whether it was the shot-making, passing, or atmosphere in the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, it was the most competitive and exciting game this season.
“And honestly, man, that’s a big win,” Mitchell said after the game. “I think we’re all excited about it, and obviously, this is one game, and no championships are won tonight, but it’s something to be proud of.”
The Cavaliers now have a 32-4 record and hold a 5.5-game lead over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings. They are 19-1 at home and an undefeated 11-0 against the West. In a year in which many thought Cleveland would still be behind the Celtics and Thunder in a race to the championship, they now look like the best team in the league. The growth of Garland, Mobley, and Allen has been huge for them, and things couldn’t be going any better for the Cavaliers.
For OKC, the loss drops them to 30-6, but they still have a six-game lead over the Houston Rockets for the top spot in the Western Conference. Despite coming up just short, they had another great performance from Gilgeous-Alexander and saw one of Hartenstein’s best games since returning from injury. It was their first loss since Dec. 1, and they still look like the favorites coming out of the West.
With how thrilling the game was, the NBA should have the Cavaliers and Thunder play every single night. For a league that has seen a drop in viewership this season, if all the games were like this one on Wednesday night, they’d have higher ratings than ever.
For a matchup that was as highly anticipated as this, it surpassed the expectations and delivered what was by far the best game this year. It might be a preview of the Finals, and if it is, NBA fans won’t be disappointed in seeing a seven-game series between these two squads.
The Cavaliers and Thunder will meet up again in the regular season. That game is coming next week on Thursday, Jan. 16th, this time in Oklahoma City. If everything goes according to plan, it will be another must-watch thriller like what we saw on Wednesday night.
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