Entering Wednesday’s matchup in Cleveland, the Thunder had won 15 consecutive games (not including the NBA Cup Final, which doesn’t count towards a team’s record season record), while the Cavaliers had won 10 straight. It was the first time in NBA history that two teams had faced off with such lengthy winning streaks on the line.
In a high-level affair that featured 30 lead changes and eight ties, the Cavaliers emerged victorious in the marquee showdown, firmly staking their claim as the league’s best team, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
“I don’t know where to rank them, but they have definitely earned their record,” Thunder forward Jalen Williams said. “You don’t get to 32-4 by accident.”
As Vardon writes, several players from both teams shined throughout the game, but Cleveland center Jarrett Allen may have had the top individual performance, notching 25 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block with no turnovers in 32 minutes. He shot 9-of-11 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line.
On a night in which Donovan Mitchell uncharacteristically struggled, scoring just 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting, the Cavs received major contributions off the bench from Max Strus (17 points on 6-of-7 shooting) and Ty Jerome (15 points on 6-of-7 shooting), Vardon notes.
“I told everybody after the game, as a unit we don’t win this game last year,” Mitchell said. “Everybody that came in did something positive to affect the game. … That’s a team win. That’s what it’s going to take to be the team we want to be.”
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- ESPN insiders Tim Bontemps, Kevin Pelton and Brian Windhorst share their takeaways from the matchup between Cleveland and Oklahoma City, which many observers have called the best game of the 2024/25 season. The two clubs will have a rematch in OKC next week (January 16).
- After Wednesday’s victory, point guard Darius Garland said he should to be an All-Star — and he’s not the only Cav who deserves that honor, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “I’m trying to be humble as possible,” Garland said. “But … yeah, I should be an All-Star. Yes. There should be four of us on this team that are All-Stars.” While he didn’t state it outright, Garland was referring to himself, Mitchell, Allen and Evan Mobley, who was also terrific on Wednesday (21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists).
- Garland backed up that statement by leading the Cavs to their 12th straight victory on Thursday vs. Toronto, Fedor writes for Cleveland.com (subscriber link). Mitchell sat out the second game of the back-to-back to rest. Garland, who turns 25 years old later this month, scored a season-high 40 points (on elite efficiency) while dishing out nine assists in the six-point win. Cleveland outscored Toronto by 18 points in his 36 minutes of action.
Cavs defeat Thunder game was not a statement game. it was absolutely a series of sentences.
Is this comment supposed to make sense?
Yes
Cavs defeating Celtics or Knicks game would be a statement game
Vardon is one of the few guys from The Athletic that I will never read. His takes are awful and his pieces basic. Case in point, one team beating another team in a single game does not firmly establish anything, particularly when the latter team would be down two significant rotation pieces and play in a harder conference.
No disrespect to the Cavs, of course. I just hate that dude lol.
The Cavs are 11-0 against the West, to be fair. They’ve lost one game to Boston, a back-to-back to the Hawks (who weirdly play up against the best teams in the east), and once to a healthy Miami on the 2nd night of a B2B.
Oh, they’re a great team, don’t get me wrong. They could even be better than the Thunder. I just think making definitive statements based on one mid-January game is silly. And Vardon is always doing stuff like this.
Last night was a sloppy game from the Cavs, 2nd night of a tough back-to-back be damned. Chris Boucher should not be torching any team with playoff aspirations, not at this point in his career. Scottie Barnes almost put up a triple double with 3 steals too, ffs. Bad defense from every single player, except maybe Jarrett Allen.
Shows you how good the Cavs are, when they win when they play a poor game. Their defense was especially a step slow all night, but even their sloppy offense got the job done.
Absolutely, but you can’t count on that. I hated watching that game as a Cavs fan.