NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland Cavaliers

· National Basketball Association
30-6, 13-4 Away
Final
122 - 129

32-4, 19-1 Home

Cavaliers beat Thunder 129-122 to end OKC's 15-game winning streak in matchup of NBA's top teams

Cavs top Thunder in battle of NBA's best

The Cavs extended their winning streak to 11, improved the league's best record to 32-4 — 11-0 against the West — and moved to 19-1 at home. They did it on an off night for leading scorer Donovan Mitchell, who had just 11 points on 3 of 16 shooting.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Jalen Williams had 25 for the Thunder in their first loss since Dec. 1.

While it's only January and there's a lot of basketball ahead, the game's intensity had the all vibes of a Finals matchup in June. There were 30 lead changes and neither team led by more than nine.

The matchup was only the third in history between teams riding double-digit winning streaks. The last time it happened was on Jan. 26, 1995, when Seattle and Utah entered their game each on 10-game winning streaks.

Takeaways Thunder: Gilgeous-Alexander is the team's undisputed star, but Oklahoma City has some nice pieces. Center Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Cavaliers: Cleveland showed its balance, depth and that it can get by when Mitchell isn't on. Mobley and Allen combined for 22 rebounds and 13 assists. Darius Garland had 18 points, seven assists and hit a floater to put OKC away.

Key moment With Cleveland up 125-122, Mitchell was called for a loose ball foul with 1:19 left. The Cavs challenged and the call was reversed by replay review. Mobley then hit a 10-footer in the lane to put Cleveland up by five.

Key stat Only four teams have posted a better record through 36 games than Cleveland: Golden State (34-2) in 2015-16, Philadelphia (33-3) in 1966-67, the Los Angeles Lakers (33-3) in 1971-72 and Chicago (33-3) in 1995-96.

Up next Thunder: Continue four-game trip at New York on Friday.

Cavaliers: Host Toronto on Thursday.

Regular Season Series

CLE leads series 1-0

Matchup Prediction

Cavaliers: 60.9%
Thunder: 39.1%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 122 - 129
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 122 - 129
4th 13.0 Aaron Wiggins enters the game for Isaiah Joe 122 - 129
4th 13.0 Luguentz Dort enters the game for Isaiah Hartenstein 122 - 129
4th 13.0 Georges Niang enters the game for Jarrett Allen 122 - 129

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/okc.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originOKC https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/cle.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCLE
48-90 FG 47-90
53.3 Field Goal % 52.2
11-31 3PT 15-36
35.5 Three Point % 41.7
15-17 FT 20-27
88.2 Free Throw % 74.1
38 Rebounds 40
9 Offensive Rebounds 12
29 Defensive Rebounds 28
35 Assists 36
9 Steals 7
5 Blocks 2
13 Turnovers 15
0 Team Turnovers 0
13 Total Turnovers 15
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
19 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 21
20 Fast Break Points 17
54 Points in Paint 60
24 Fouls 20
9 Largest Lead 7

Game Information

Rocket Arena

Location: Cleveland, OH
Attendance: 19,432 · Capacity:

2024-25 Northwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Oklahoma City 47 11 .810 - W1
Denver 38 21 .644 9.5 L1
Minnesota 32 28 .533 16 L1
Portland 26 33 .441 21.5 W3
Utah 14 44 .241 33 L2

2024-25 Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 48 10 .828 - W8
Indiana 33 24 .579 14.5 W1
Milwaukee 33 25 .569 15 W1
Detroit 33 26 .559 15.5 W8
Chicago 23 36 .390 25.5 L1
Full Standings

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