Two Reasons Why the Cleveland Cavaliers Lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Cleveland Cavaliers couldn't keep their magical run afloat as they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 121-113 loss on Sunday. Guard Sam Merrill proved to be a sharpshooter for the Cavs as he led them with six 3-point makes. Guard Isaiah Joe led the way for the Thunder with 22 points while adding five steals.

The Cavs rolled with Evan Mobley and Dean Wade in the starting five alongside Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Jarrett Allen for the second time this season. The lineup fell to 1-1 on the year after claiming a 28-point victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, where an even effort kept the Cavs' offense rolling with a lopsided scoring effort in the paint.

While Cleveland couldn't seem to find the same consistency from the floor against the Thunder early on, it would still end the game with 56 points in the paint to OKC's 40. Here are the reasons why the Cavs lost.

Slow start

The Thunder would shake off a slow start from both sides first as they rained down a barrage of shots to pull ahead early. A disoriented Cavs squad wouldn't score its first bucket until about three minutes in, when Harden tried to break their cold spell with a quick floater.

Cleveland would continue to tumble as Thunder big Chet Holmgren found his stride early with three makes in his first four tries from the floor. The Cavs slipped to a 15-point deficit by quarter's end even as they started to claw back into contention in the final minutes of play.

While OKC tried to put the game away for good in the second quarter, the Cavs attempted to flip the script as OKC started to stall after soaring to monstrous heights early on. Cleveland failed to capitalize on a second quarter that saw the Thunder hit seven of their 17 shots even as it started chipping away at the cavernous lead with strikes in the paint and at the free throw line.

Thunder hot from deep

The Thunder, who entered the game tied at about 11th in the NBA in 3-point percentage, tried to stay hot from the arc just long enough to stop a potential comeback win for the surging Cavs. Cleveland tried to shoot its way back into contention in a short all-or-nothing gambit to redline a run to its first lead, which proved to be fruitless before Merrill seemed to forget how to miss at the start the third quarter.

Cleveland would claim its first lead of the game just over three minutes into the third quarter, but a strong finishing push from the Thunder's starters in the fourth pushed things out of reach for good. Cleveland climbed back to a 33.3% clip from the 3-point line despite making just five shots on 22 attempts in the first half, but still couldn't catch up with an astounding outing from the Thunder that saw them sink 21 of their 41 tries from long range.

Big tests await the Cavs

Cleveland will move on to face the New York Knicks, who entered the day tied the Cavs at seven games behind the Detroit Pistons for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

New York will face a Cavs division rival in the Chicago Bulls at 8:00 p.m. EST on Sunday after alternating between wins and losses to start off its February run. Cleveland is 0-2 against the Knicks this season following two matchups at Madison Square Garden, but will close the regular-season series on its home court, where it holds a record of 19-11 and a five-game win streak.

The Cavs will tip off against the Knicks at 7:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday in Rocket Arena. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.