Thunder's barrage of threes shattered Cleveland's perfect streak with James Harden. Oklahoma City's relentless perimeter attack and clutch rebounding sealed a vital victory.
The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon in an ESPN matinee, and Cleveland entered the game red hot at 5-0 since acquiring James Harden. That momentum didn’t matter.
The Thunder earned a much-needed 121-113 victory, and it all started with a first-quarter punch that set the tone.
Oklahoma City jumped out to a stunning 28-5 lead and pushed the advantage to as many as 23 points in the opening frame. The Cavaliers eventually stabilized, but the Thunder still led 40-25 at the end of the first quarter, building a sizable cushion that ultimately proved crucial.
From there, Cleveland chipped away.
The Cavaliers were plus-6 in both the second and third quarters and even briefly grabbed a lead in the third. By the end of the quarter, Oklahoma City’s advantage had been trimmed to just two points entering the fourth.
That’s when the Thunder made winning plays.
Despite Cleveland having the two most prolific scoring talents in this game with Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, and despite Oklahoma City being without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, it was the Thunder who executed down the stretch.
Three-point shooting was the defining theme of the afternoon. Oklahoma City went 21-of-41 from beyond the arc, compared to Cleveland’s 13-of-39. Isaiah Joe knocked down six threes, Cason Wallace hit four, Jaylin Williams added three, and Lu Dort chipped in two as part of a balanced perimeter attack. It was an offensive barrage that offset Cleveland’s star power.
Rebounding also played a key role, particularly late. The Thunder finished with 13 offensive rebounds compared to Cleveland’s 12, and several of those came in the fourth quarter to generate critical second-chance opportunities that helped Oklahoma City maintain control.
Cleveland largely took care of the basketball after a sloppy first quarter, but the early hole proved too deep to fully escape. The Thunder’s shot-making and timely offensive rebounding were enough to close it out and secure the 121-113 win.
From here, the Thunder will travel to Canada to take on the Raptors on Tuesday night.