The Cleveland Cavaliers' loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder could have looked much different if it weren't for Cleveland's 17 turnovers.
Fourteen seconds after the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder tipped off on Sunday afternoon, James Harden had a bad pass and turned the ball over. Then, a minute of game-time later, the Cavaliers turned the ball over again on consecutive possessions, and that issue kept snowballing.
Over the next 12 minutes, the Cavaliers would turn the ball over nine more times, allowing the Thunder to score 17 points off Cleveland miscues. By the time the first quarter was over, the Cavaliers found themselves down 15 points
Kenny Atkinson said that those turnovers, which caused the double-digit deficit right out of the gate, were the “story of the game,” and he’s exactly right.
“Ten turnovers, what was it, in the first quarter?” Atkinson said, “We’re lucky we cut it to 15 [points] even after the 10 turnovers.”
What made this the key takeaway of the game wasn’t that the Cavaliers ended up being blown out by OKC after turning the ball over, being down by as many as 23 points in the second quarter.
This was the main narrative because Cleveland actually came back, took the lead in the fourth, and even had a chance to win the game in the closing possessions.
Feb 22, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain (3) defends Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) during the first half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn ImagesIn the second and third quarters, the Cavaliers actually outscored the Thunder 61-49 thanks to some lockdown defense from the Wine and Gold, and a renewed effort to take care of the ball on offense. Once the Cavaliers could actually set up their offense, they started making shots.
Hindsight is 20/20, and it’s not always wise to play the “what if” game, but if the Cavaliers didn’t have such a slow, and in some ways sloppy start, they could have easily put themselves in the driver seat and hat a chance to beat the defending nation champions on their home flower, albeit without two of their star players.
“We got down in such a big hole, fought back, had a chance,” Atkinson said. “But you can’t get off to a start like that on the road; turn the ball like that on the road.”
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