Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 40 as Thunder demolish Cavaliers, 134–114, in clash of NBA’s best teams

The Oklahoma City Thunder made an emphatic statement regarding who the best team in the NBA might be with a decisive 134–114 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.

Cleveland won the previous matchup between the two teams last week, 129–122, but that looked like a distant memory for the rematch at the Paycom Center. With 2:17 remaining in the third quarter, the Thunder held a 42-point lead, 115–73.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 40 points with eight assists, while Luguentz Dort shot 6-for-9 on 3-pointers en route to 22 points. Jalen Williams added 19 points with six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.

Darius Garland led the Cavs with 20 points and nine assists, but didn’t get much help. Jarrett Allen added 13 points and seven rebounds, followed by Ty Jerome off the bench, tallying 12 with 2-of-3 shooting on 3s. Donovan Mitchell scored a season-low eight points, hitting only 3-of-15 shots from the floor.

With the victory, the Thunder tied the Cavaliers for the NBA’s best record at 34–6.

First-quarter knockout

Cleveland had a 12–10 lead at the 5:27 mark of the first quarter. But the Thunder exploded from there, going on a 22–2 run.

Gilgeous-Alexander outscored the Cavaliers by himself in the opening 12 minutes, 15–14. He shot 6-for-9 from the floor while Cleveland went 6-for-23. The Cavs made more turnovers than shots, committing seven in a horrible quarter.

Oklahoma City’s dominance continued through the first half, taking a 75–49 lead into the break. Gilgeous-Alexander had 26 at halftime, followed by 13 from Dort.

The Thunder shot 58% (11-for-19) on 3-pointers in the first two quarters with Branden Carlson, Isaiah Joe and Alex Caruso each going 2-for-2 and Dort shooting 3-for-4.

On the other side, Garland had 15 at the half for Cleveland with Isaac Okoro adding seven. Allen followed with six points and seven rebounds, while Mitchell notched only five on 2-of-12 shooting.

Allen and Evan Mobley combined for 18 points in the game despite the Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein being sidelined with a left calf strain. The center sustained the injury during Tuesday’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers. He will be re-evaluated in one week.

Cleveland has until Saturday to process this performance, finishing off its three-game road trip against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Oklahoma City plays the second end of a back-to-back on Friday versus the Dallas Mavericks.