Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 40 as Oklahoma City Thunder rout the Cleveland Cavaliers
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dunks between Cleveland Cavaliers guards Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder avenged last week’s defeat by the Cleveland Cavaliers with a crushing 134-114 victory over their league-leading National Basketball Association (NBA) rivals on Jan 16.
Gilgeous-Alexander produced a dazzling all-round performance to bag his fifth 40-point game of the season, overwhelming a shell-shocked Cavs line-up at the Paycom Centre in Oklahoma City.
He also had eight assists and three rebounds for the standout performance in a blowout that no one saw coming.
But the 26-year-old guard sought to play down the significance of the victory after the final buzzer.
“Tonight was a good performance. We did the things we were supposed to do,” the Canadian told broadcaster TNT.
“But for us, it was just another night of basketball, another night of competing together, another night of being competitive.
“It happened to be a hype game. It happened to be on TV. But for us, we’re at home in front of the best fans in the NBA. We gave it our all and the outcome was the outcome.”
Luguentz Dort offered offensive support with 22 points, including six of nine from three-point range. Jalen Williams added 19 points.
Darius Garland led Cleveland’s scoring with 20 points, while Donovan Mitchell was restricted to just eight points.
The result leaves Oklahoma City and Cleveland with identical records of 34-6 at the top of their respective conferences.
Gilgeous-Alexander did admit that the Thunder took satisfaction from handing out such a comprehensive defeat to a team that before the game had the best record in the league.
“It’s the cream of the crop and obviously you want to test yourself against the best to find out where you really are,” he said.
“We tested ourselves and I think we passed.”
Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson, meanwhile, blamed “uncharacteristic” defensive blunders for his team’s loss.
“They imposed their will in every sense. Turned us over, and then we couldn’t stop them. But it starts with the turnovers, which is uncharacteristic of us,” he said.
“It was an avalanche and we really just never responded.”
Oklahoma City forced 13 turnovers from Cleveland, which were converted into 22 points in the first half.
The Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers had beaten the Thunder 129-122 on Jan 8 in a hard-fought battle in Cleveland.
Most analysts had anticipated another close duel in the rematch between two teams many expect to end up meeting in the NBA Finals in June.
But the Cavaliers never recovered after a first-quarter onslaught that saw the Thunder sprint to a 32-14 lead after a scorching 22-2 run. AFP
