CLEVELAND — Jarrett Allen scored 25 points, Evan Mobley added 21 and Cleveland Cavaliers ended Oklahoma City’s 15-game winning streak with a victory Thunder 129-122 on Wednesday night in a marquee matchup between two of the NBA’s best teams.
The Cavs extended their winning streak to 11, improved their league best record to 32-4, 11-0 against the West and improved to 19-1 at home. They did it on an off night for the leading scorer Donovan Mitchellwho scored just 11 points, hitting 3 of 16 shots on goal.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Jalen Williams The Thunder scored 25 points in their first loss since December 1.
Even though it’s only January and there’s a lot of basketball ahead of us, the intensity of the match was reminiscent of the final match in June. There were 30 lead changes, and neither team led by more than nine.
This match was only the third in history between teams with a double-digit winning streak. The last time this happened was on January 26, 1995, when Seattle and Utah entered the game with 10 straight wins.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the undisputed star of the team, but Oklahoma City has some solid pieces. Center Isaiah Hartenstein finished the game with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.
Cleveland showed its balance, depth and that it can cope when Mitchell is not on the field. Mobley and Allen combined for 22 rebounds and 13 assists.
With Cleveland leading 125-122, Mitchell was whistled for a loose ball foul at 1:19. The Cavs challenged and the decision was reversed after reviewing replays. Mobley then hit a 10-yard shot to the line to put Cleveland ahead by five.
Only four teams had a better record through 36 games than Cleveland: Golden State (34-2) in 2015-16, Philadelphia (33-3) in 1966-67, Los Angeles Lakers (33-3) in 1971-72 i Chicago (33-3) in 1995-96.
