Game ID: 22400509
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM ET
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 25 37 41 26 129OKC 32 27 43 20 122
CLE vs OKC ScoutingCLE vs OKC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
CLE availability going into 12/30 · 2 days' restOUT Okoro missed 4 since 12/20, out tonight
CLE availability going into 12/31 · back-to-backOUT Okoro missed 5 since 12/20, out tonight
CLE availability going into 1/03 · 2 days' restOUT Okoro missed 6 since 12/20, out tonight
CLE availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Okoro missed 7 since 12/20, out tonight
CLE availability going into 1/08 · 2 days' restOUT Merrill missed 2 since 1/03, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 8 since 12/20, returns tonight: 13 min (70% of 18)
CLE availability going into 1/09 · back-to-backOUT Merrill missed 3 since 1/03, returns tonight: 13 min (64% of 20)
BACK Okoro back 1/08 after 8, 13 min since (70% of 18)
CLE availability going into 1/12 · 2 days' restBACK Merrill back 1/09 after 3, 13 min since (64% of 20)
BACK Okoro back 1/08 after 8, 10 min since (55% of 18)
CLE availability going into 1/14 · 1 day's restBACK Merrill back 1/09 after 3, 12 min since (62% of 20)
BACK Okoro back 1/08 after 8, 13 min since (70% of 18)
CLE availability going into 1/16 · 1 day's restOUT Jerome missed 2 since 1/12, returns tonight: 16 min (81% of 20)
BACK Merrill back 1/09 after 3, 12 min since (62% of 20)
BACK Okoro back 1/08 after 8, 11 min since (61% of 18)
OKC availability going into 12/31 · 1 day's restOUT Holmgren missed 21 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Caruso missed 3 since 12/26, out tonight
NEW Mitchell 14 to 21 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restOUT Holmgren missed 22 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Caruso missed 4 since 12/26, out tonight
NEW Mitchell 14 to 22 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 1/03 · back-to-backOUT Holmgren missed 23 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Caruso missed 5 since 12/26, out tonight
NEW Mitchell 14 to 22 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Holmgren missed 24 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Caruso missed 6 since 12/26, out tonight
NEW Mitchell 14 to 22 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 1/08 · 2 days' restOUT Holmgren missed 25 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Caruso missed 7 since 12/26, out tonight
NEW Mitchell 14 to 19 min over the last 4
OKC availability going into 1/10 · 1 day's restOUT Holmgren missed 26 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Caruso missed 8 since 12/26, out tonight
OUT Mitchell missed 2 since 1/05, out tonight
OKC availability going into 1/12 · 1 day's restOUT Holmgren missed 27 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Caruso missed 9 since 12/26, out tonight
OUT Mitchell missed 3 since 1/05, out tonight
OKC availability going into 1/14 · 1 day's restOUT Holmgren missed 28 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Caruso missed 10 since 12/26, returns tonight: 18 min (86% of 21)
OUT Mitchell missed 4 since 1/05, out tonight
NEW Wallace 26 to 32 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 1/16 · 1 day's restOUT Holmgren missed 29 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Mitchell missed 5 since 1/05, out tonight
BACK Caruso back 1/14 after 10, 18 min since (86% of 21)
NEW Wallace 26 to 32 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 17 free throws a game; Mitchell at 23 and Garland at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Merrill (2 straight), Okoro (8 straight). 2 days' rest. OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 102, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 34 and Jal. Williams at 15 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Holmgren (25 straight), Caruso (7 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 102 a night to Cleveland's 113. Call it Cleveland 115, OKC 112, OKC keeping it close.
12/30 @ GSW 113-95 — CLE notes
CLE won 113-95. CLE shot 46% (44 of 96) to GSW's 33%, 18 of 47 from three, and got to the line 10 times to GSW's 26. Garland led with 25 (10 of 17, 3 of 8 from three); Mitchell added 23, Allen 12. The hinge was Q3, 37-27: a lead of 8 became 18, and the lead reached 26. Garland was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
12/31 @ LAL 122-110 — CLE notes
CLE won 122-110. CLE shot 48% (45 of 93) to LAL's 44%, 18 of 46 from three. Allen led with 27 (12 of 14); Mitchell added 26, Mobley 20. The hinge was Q1, 34-30: from level to 4 ahead, and the lead reached 16. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
1/03 @ DAL 134-122 — CLE notes
CLE won 134-122. CLE shot 53% (52 of 98) to DAL's 43%, 15 of 40 from three, and got to the line 20 times to DAL's 30. CLE turned it over 7 times to DAL's 12. Mobley led with 34 (14 of 21, 3 of 6 from three); LeVert added 17, Garland 16. The hinge was Q1, 32-21: from level to 11 ahead, and the lead reached 27. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +32.
1/05 vs CHA 115-105 — CLE notes
CLE won 115-105. CLE shot 48% (44 of 92) to CHA's 42%, 15 of 43 from three. Garland led with 25 (8 of 14, 4 of 7 from three); Mitchell added 19, Allen 19. The hinge was Q2, 34-25: a lead of 6 became 15, and the lead reached 24. Strus was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
1/08 vs OKC 129-122 — CLE notes
CLE won 129-122. CLE shot 52% (47 of 90) to OKC's 53%, 15 of 36 from three, and went to the line 27 times to OKC's 17 — 20 points from the stripe to their 15. Allen led with 25 (9 of 11, 7 of 10 at the line); Mobley added 21, Garland 18. The hinge was Q2, 37-27: CLE came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 3. Okoro was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
1/09 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; Mobley at 20 and Garland at 20 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Merrill (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Toronto comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 100 a night and allowing 117, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 15 free throws a game; Barnes at 22 and Quickley at 16 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Lawson (4 straight), Battle (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the arc, Cleveland at 38 percent from three to Toronto's 34 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 111 a night to Toronto's 117. Call it Cleveland 121, Toronto 107, Cleveland by 14.
1/12 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 117, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Garland at 23 and Mobley at 23 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 2 days' rest. Indiana comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 106, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Haliburton at 25 and Siakam at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Nesmith (33 straight), Isa. Jackson (33 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Indiana allowing 106 a night to Cleveland's 117. Call it Cleveland 119, Indiana 115, Indiana keeping it close.
1/14 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 102, shooting 50 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Siakam at 21 and Haliburton at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Nesmith (34 straight), Isa. Jackson (34 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 117, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 21 free throws a game; Garland at 24 and Mobley at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the defense, Indiana allowing 102 a night to Cleveland's 117 and the glass, where Indiana has been plus-3 a night and Cleveland minus-3. Call it Indiana 116, Cleveland 114, Cleveland keeping it close.
1/16 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 104, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Jal. Williams at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Holmgren (29 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 116, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Garland at 25 and Mitchell at 21 a game. Without Jerome (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 104 a night to Cleveland's 116 and the arc, OKC at 40 percent from three to Cleveland's 35. Call it OKC 117, Cleveland 111.
12/31 vs MIN 113-105 — OKC notes
OKC won 113-105. OKC shot 47% (42 of 89) to MIN's 49%, 12 of 36 from three, and went to the line 23 times to MIN's 12 — 17 points from the stripe to their 12. OKC turned it over 9 times to MIN's 23. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 40 (15 of 23, 3 of 5 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Hartenstein added 15, Jal. Williams 14. The hinge was Q3, 43-23: OKC came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 14. OKC trailed 46-52 at the half and won the second half 67-53. Joe was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
1/02 vs LAC 116-98 — OKC notes
OKC won 116-98. OKC shot 50% (43 of 86) to LAC's 47%, 14 of 38 from three. OKC turned it over 9 times to LAC's 19. The glass went 35-45 against them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 29 (9 of 17, 2 of 5 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Jal. Williams added 18, Mitchell 11. The hinge was Q3, 42-20: OKC came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 18, and the lead reached 28. OKC trailed 48-52 at the half and won the second half 68-46. Jal. Williams was the night's best plus/minus at +33.
1/03 vs NYK 117-107 — OKC notes
OKC won 117-107. OKC shot 51% (43 of 84) to NYK's 48%, 14 of 27 from three. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 33 (12 of 26, 2 of 3 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Jal. Williams added 20, Wiggins 19. The hinge was Q4, 37-19: OKC came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 10. OKC trailed 54-66 at the half and won the second half 63-41. Wallace was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
1/05 vs BOS 105-92 — OKC notes
OKC won 105-92. OKC shot 45% (39 of 87) to BOS's 36%, 16 of 38 from three, and got to the line 13 times to BOS's 24. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 33 (11 of 23, 3 of 6 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Wiggins added 15, Dort 14. The hinge was Q4, 29-12: OKC came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 13. OKC trailed 55-65 at the half and won the second half 50-27. Jal. Williams was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
1/08 @ CLE 122-129 — OKC notes
OKC lost 122-129. OKC shot 53% (48 of 90) to CLE's 52%, 11 of 31 from three, and got to the line 17 times to CLE's 27. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 31 (13 of 27, 1 of 6 from three); Jal. Williams added 25, Hartenstein 18. Q1 was theirs, 32-25, but the other 3 periods went 104-90 against them. Dort's -15 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/10 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 30 from three, 22 free throws a game; Towns at 30 and Brunson at 23 a game. Without McBride (5 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Jal. Williams at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Holmgren (26 straight), Caruso (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 39 percent from three to New York's 30 and the glass, where New York has been plus-4 a night and OKC minus-4. Call it OKC 112, New York 111, New York keeping it close.
1/12 @ WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Washington comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 125, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 17 free throws a game; Butler at 15 and Kuzma at 15 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Brogdon (3 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 105, shooting 51 percent and 43 from three, 18 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Jal. Williams at 18 a game. Without Holmgren (27 straight), Caruso (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 105 a night to Washington's 125 and the arc, OKC at 43 percent from three to Washington's 36. Call it OKC 118, Washington 108, OKC by 10.
1/14 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 107, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Maxey at 27 and George at 20 a game. Without Embiid (4 straight), Lowry (4 straight), Drummond (4 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 105, shooting 50 percent and 43 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Jal. Williams at 18 a game. Without Holmgren (28 straight), Caruso (10 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where OKC has been plus-3 a night and Philadelphia minus-3 and the arc, OKC at 43 percent from three to Philadelphia's 37. Call it OKC 113, Philadelphia 107.
1/16 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 104, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Jal. Williams at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Holmgren (29 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 116, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Garland at 25 and Mitchell at 21 a game. Without Jerome (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 104 a night to Cleveland's 116 and the arc, OKC at 40 percent from three to Cleveland's 35. Call it OKC 117, Cleveland 111.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECL C. LeVert
DG D. Garland
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
GN G. Niang
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
MS M. Strus
TJ T. Jerome
OKCAW A. Wiggins
CW C. Wallace
IH I. Hartenstein
IJ I. Joe
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
JW Jay. Williams
KW K. Williams
LD L. Dort
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
CLE/OKC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Cavaliers beat Thunder 129-122 to end OKC's 15-game winning streak in matchup of NBA's top teams
CLEVELAND -- — Jarrett Allen scored 25 points, Evan Mobley added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers ended Oklahoma City's 15-game winning streak by beating the Thunder 129-122 on Wednesday night in a marquee meeting between the NBA's top two teams.
The Cavs extended their winning streak to 11, improved the league's best record to 32-4 — 11-0 against the West — and moved to 19-1 at home. They did it on an off night for leading scorer Donovan Mitchell , who had just 11 points on 3 of 16 shooting.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Jalen Williams had 25 for the Thunder in their first loss since Dec. 1.
While it's only January and there's a lot of basketball ahead, the game's intensity had the all vibes of a Finals matchup in June. There were 30 lead changes and neither team led by more than nine.
The matchup was only the third in history between teams riding double-digit winning streaks. The last time it happened was on Jan. 26, 1995, when Seattle and Utah entered their game each on 10-game winning streaks.
Takeaways Thunder: Gilgeous-Alexander is the team's undisputed star, but Oklahoma City has some nice pieces. Center Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Cavaliers: Cleveland showed its balance, depth and that it can get by when Mitchell isn't on. Mobley and Allen combined for 22 rebounds and 13 assists. Darius Garland had 18 points, seven assists and hit a floater to put OKC away.
Key moment With Cleveland up 125-122, Mitchell was called for a loose ball foul with 1:19 left. The Cavs challenged and the call was reversed by replay review. Mobley then hit a 10-footer in the lane to put Cleveland up by five.
Key stat Only four teams have posted a better record through 36 games than Cleveland: Golden State (34-2) in 2015-16, Philadelphia (33-3) in 1966-67, the Los Angeles Lakers (33-3) in 1971-72 and Chicago (33-3) in 1995-96.
Up next Thunder: Continue four-game trip at New York on Friday.