NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers win 11th in a row to end 15-game OKC Thunder streak

CLEVELAND – In a historic showdown seen as a possible National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals preview, Jarrett Allen scored 25 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 129-122 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan 8.

The NBA-leading Cavaliers improved to 32-4 with their 11th consecutive victory, while the visiting Western Conference leaders Thunder fell to 30-6 with their franchise-record 15-game winning streak snapped.

“It felt like a battle all night. We were scoring. They were scoring, getting stops on both sides. We knew at the end of the night, it was coming down to which team had more effort,” Allen said.

On a night when Cavs star Donovan Mitchell scored only 11 points on three-of-16 shooting, Cleveland’s big men took command.

Allen topped Cleveland scorers, as he added 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals while working with Evan Mobley, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. They became the first Cavaliers teammates to each register 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game since LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in 2017.

“We were willing to try it,” Allen added of the two-man inside tandem at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

“We’re learning to grow together. It was a learning curve. Stuff like that just doesn’t happen overnight, but Evan and I are willing to work together and try to find the best thing that works.”

Seven players scored in double figures for Cleveland, including Darius Garland with 18 points, reserve Max Strus with 17 and 15 off the bench from Ty Jerome.

“Everybody is ready to play. Everybody is willing to make the next pass to the open man, and we have a bunch of shooters who can knock down shots,” Allen said.

It was only the third game in NBA history featuring two clubs on win streaks of 10 or more games, and the first time since the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000.

It was also only the second time in NBA history there was a game involving teams who won 30 or more of their first 35 games, the other being the Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1971-72 campaign.

Oklahoma City entered 11-0 against teams in the Eastern Conference and Cleveland entered 10-0 against the Western Conference, marking the first time since conferences were established in 1970 that teams met with such big runs against the opposite conference.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31 points, while Jalen Williams added 25 for Oklahoma City, who host a rematch on Jan 16.

The Cavs, who won their first 15 games this season for the second-best start in NBA history, put the most accurate-shooting NBA club against the league’s top defence.

Mitchell missed his first seven shots but slammed in a dunk with 12 seconds remaining in the second quarter to give Cleveland a 62-59 half-time lead.

His second basket came on a three-pointer with 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Cavs a 103-102 edge entering the fourth. He was just two of 13 from the floor by the end of the third quarter, the first period in the NBA this season where both teams scored 40 or more points.

The game remained tight into the final minutes, with the Cavs ahead 125-122 after 30 lead changes. Mobley’s driving floater gave Cleveland a 127-122 lead with 67 seconds remaining, and Garland sank a driving lay-up with 27 seconds left to produce the final margin.

“We have the best record but, in games like this, you want to prove yourself, not just to everybody, but to ourselves,” Mitchell said.

Elsewhere, Tyrese Maxey scored 29 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-103 home win over the Washington Wizards at Wells Fargo Centre, while Malik Beasley had 23 points in the Detroit Pistons’ 113-98 road victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Centre.

Karl-Anthony Towns and O.G. Anunoby each scored 27 points to help the New York Knicks to a 112-98 win over the visiting Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden, while Pascal Siakam scored 26 points to power the Indiana Pacers over the visiting Chicago Bulls 129-113 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. AFP