Thunder 136, Cavaliers 104: The Day After Report

Box Score | Play-by-Play

Final: Thunder (36-8) def. Cavaliers (24-20), 136-104

• The Thunder racked up another quality win, blowing out the Eastern Conference 5-seed Cavaliers on a Martin Luther King Jr. Day national broadcast.
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was his MVP-excellent self, putting up a too-easy 30 points on 20 shots, pacing a Thunder offense that kept throwing flames (23-47 from deep) for the fifth straight contest. Before this handful of high-scoring affairs, OKC hadn’t made 39% or better of its threes in three straight games since before their first loss to San Antonio back on December 13.
• In the first game of a multi-week Jalen Williams absence (he pulled his hamstring against the Heat on Saturday), Mark Daigneault went double-big with Jaylin Williams starting alongside Chet Holmgren. Matching up with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen was no problem for the Thunder frontcourt, nor for SGA, who was typically undeterred from finishing over and around some of the most imposing post defenders in the sport.
• The Thunder were just pouring it in. They ran up most of their 15-point halftime lead in the first quarter, then mowed down the Cavs with multiple second-half tsunamis. Cleveland’s been disappointing on defense this season, but OKC hasn’t always gotten the lid off the basket against weak defensive opponents. They weren’t slowed down without JDub and Isaiah Hartenstein to begin with, and didn’t lose steam when both J-Will and Alex Caruso left with injuries in the first half.
• Chet Holmgren. My goodness. 28 points on 11-16 shooting, with 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a lengthy highlight reel. He dominated the final frame, building the Thunder lead out of Cleveland’s reach while Shai was getting rest. He had a monster drive and finish, multiple dagger three-pointers, and approximately 200 overwhelming contests.
• A first-quarter Chet vs. Donovan Mitchell crash at the rim was a precursor to several electrifying moments of its kind throughout the game. They both ascended for the ultimate risk/reward for pride: get posterized or get stuffed. Mitchell and the Cavs got some dunks and putbacks along the way, but Chet caused many more misses at the cup.

• Some other airborne duels of note: Jarrett Allen blocked an attempted dunk by Kenrich Williams, SGA fouled Allen at the summit to prevent a slam, and Chet got got in transition by a perfectly timed block from Craig Porter Jr.
• Holmgren’s final bomb to put OKC up 116-99 with 3:30 remaining effectively ended the game. The game got sillier after that, with OKC dropping another 20 points before it was finished.
• High-flying plays, Thunder raining threes, Shai statuesque finishes: it was a fun watch.
• Down Darius Garland, Cleveland was handled by OKC’s guards to the tune of 21 turnovers and a classic 5-18 night for Donovan Mitchell, courtesy of Lu Dort (who went 5-6 from three to rub it in). Cleveland got the better end of the whistle and won the rebounding battle, but shot a miserable 8-35 from deep and just 37.4% from the floor.
• The injury that took out Williams was another drive where his athleticism betrayed his smarts and size after getting to the basket. It was his second ugly drive into a Cavs behemoth, and he went down hard after being blocked by Allen. J-Will has to keep improving his feel on offense as a playmaker in space (and I believe he will) as long as defenders keep running him off the line.
• For two straight games the following has happened: J. Williams goes 2-2 from three to eke above 30% on the season, then has to leave early with an injury. The worst version of the JDub/JWill Spider-Man meme.
• Oklahoma City opened the second half with Kenny in J-Will’s place. Aside from a 9-0 Cavs run in the third, OKC was in a constant state of pulling away.
• I was prepared for Aaron Wiggins, starting in Williams’ place, to be an aggressive scorer. I didn’t expect him to turn in a disciplined 12 points while stat-stuffing to pick up the slack elsewhere: 6 boards, 3 assists, and 5 (!) steals.
• Wiggins has started six of the Thunder’s last eight. He’s not the best OKC player at any particular aspect, but he’s well-rounded and has been so good the last two seasons.
• Isaiah Joe (16 points, 4-7 from three) just made awesome things happen. Shooting, moving the ball, relocation, two-man game—it was ~chef’s kiss~ every time he touched the ball.

One Key Takeaway: Chet’s an All-Star