Thunder eviscerate Cavaliers 134-114
It was as deflating as the score indicates.
The Cleveland Cavaliers for the first time this season had to eat a slice of humble pie. Most games, even in losses, the Cavaliers mounted a respectable comeback. Against the Thunder this game was simply never in reach. The Thunder flat-out outperformed the Cavaliers in practically every metric you would choose.
The Thunder were a defensive juggernaut even without Isaiah Hartenstein. The clamps were suffocating for every player on the Cavaliers through the entire game. Jarret Allen and Evan Mobley were poised to have a great game. In their previous game the tandem had a fantastic outing, without Hartenstein one would’ve assumed they were going to put up numbers. That simply did not happen.
Mobley had his worst outing of the season. The Thunder smothered him, whenever Mobley was on ball you could see bodies draped on him and the panic in his eyes. It was a throwback to the lowlights of Mobley’s prior seasons. The indecisiveness he displayed was reminiscent of what drew critiques of Mobley’s lack of development. Mobley scored 5 points on 2-7 shooting.
Mobley, Allen, and the rest of the team were enveloped by the Thunder players and were outmatched. The Thunder came out with a level of aggression and tenacity that drained the life and will out of the Cavaliers' offense. They got punched in the mouth in the first quarter early. After leading the game 12-10 at the 6:08 mark in the first, the Thunder proceeded to close out the quarter on a 22-2 run. From that point onward the game was never in question.
This is a game where you give more praise to the Thunder than draw up more criticism to the Cavaliers. While yes, this was embarrassing, this was a Thunder team inspired by their loss to the Cavaliers last week. Both teams are excellent and games like this happen. Conclusions will be dramatic and cataclysmic but they shouldn’t be. However, that happens when you get smoked in primetime and the lights are bright.