OKC Thunder Run Away From Cleveland in Blowout Victory

In a rematch of a highly-contested heavyweight battle between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Thunder walked away with a surprising 134-114 win.

To say the fashion in which OKC would run away with this game was surprising would be an understatement. A night full of elite shotmaking and high-intensity defense powered OKC to arguably the most impressive win of any team so far in the regular season.

The recent injury of center Isaiah Hartenstein forced OKC to insert third-year forward Jaylin Williams into the starting lineup. The lack of defense and size Hartenstein brought came at a poor time with the Thunder preparing for Cleveland's Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

Despite missing its interior presence, the Thunder blitzed Cleveland in the first quarter. They shot 6-for-10 from outside in the opening period and played swarming defense. The Cavaliers did get out to a 12-10 lead with both teams struggling to score but a pair of step-back jumpers from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander started a run that would end in the Thunder leading 32-14.

OKC's hot three-point shooting throughout the whole game really separated the two squads. The Thunder shot 18-for-53 from three with multiple players getting in on the fun. Even rookie Branden Carlson, who's actively playing through a 10-day contract, hit three triples on 50% efficiency. His general presence was impactful with Hartenstein out, finishing with 11 when the game was done.

The ability and opportunity to turn the Cavaliers over also pushed OKC ahead. The Thunder forced 12 turnovers in the first half and 21 at the game's end while only committing six. Oklahoma City's defense was simply elite, displayed both in and out of the box score. On top of that, Oklahoma City scored 22 points of Cavalier turnovers in the first half.

Oklahoma City's lead ballooned to 75-52 at the end of the first half with help from everyone imaginable. That was without Gilgeous-Alexander, who didn't reenter the game until the 5:14 mark. He finished the first half with 26 points, shooting 10-for-15 from the field. The score wouldn't have been remotely close in the first half if it weren't for guard Darius Garland, who finished the first part of the game with 15 points in 6-for-8 shooting.

The Thunder continued its hot shooting to start the second half alongside its intense defense. Guard Lu Dort aided in both of those categories, hitting three triples and blocking Cleveland star guard Donovan Mitchell.

A championship level of offense and defense was played on both sides of the ball by the Thunder. From the turnovers forced to the shots OKC created, a nearly perfect game was put on by OKC. They dismantled the eight-best team in the NBA based on defensive efficiency and did just about everything right on defense.

The OKC lead by the third quarter's end was lifted to an unimaginable amount, ahead by 119-81. OKC's largest lead got up to 42 points. The game was effectively over and OKC's starters wouldn't see the court for the rest of the game outside of Cason Wallace, who finished the evening with NUMBER points.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished the night with 40 points on 17-for-26 shooting, his fifth 40-point or more outing of the season. Jalen Williams finished with 19 on 8-for-14 shooting and, in one of his best outings of the season, Dort with 22 on 8-for-11 efficiency and 6-for-9 from outside.

With the game over by the start of the fourth quarter, the Thunder emptied its bench for some younger players. The final lineup of the game included Carlson, Adam Flagler, Alex Ducas, Ousmane Dieng and Aaron Wiggins. That lineup closed out the game.

The Thunder will look to follow up its blowout victory with a road test against the Dallas Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. CT on Friday, Jan. 17.

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