OKC Thunder are at their best when they face the best, drop 148 on Cavs
The OKC Thunder came in the Cavs game with a three-game winning streak and were able to overcome the challenge in impressive fashion.
The Oklahoma City Thunder came in the game knowing what was the main headline — LeBron James was going for 30,000 points and he just needed 25. James was only able to score 18 points and he was held in check. For the OKC Thunder, Saturday’s 148-124 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers was their fourth straight win.
The Thunder already had wins against the Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors under their belt. Now they have beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers as well.
Against the top three seeds in each conference, they have a combined record of 5-2, with wins against the five teams mentioned above and losses against the Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs.
The Thunder have shown that when they are clicking, they can be a hard team to deal with and they may be a Cinderella team in the NBA Playoffs.
In the games against the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers — the league’s Finals participants for the last three years — the Thunder have won by a combined 41 points. They beat the Warriors by 17 points and the Cavs by 24.
148 points. That’s the highest-scoring non-OT game for the Thunder. #funfact pic.twitter.com/nIs6WcaTgl
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 20, 2018
With the trade deadline nearing, this is a good sign for the Thunder because with strong play that means there is more incentive to keep Paul George because there are signs that they can do damage in the playoffs.
Speaking of Paul George, he was the main source of offense for the Thunder during this game. He poured in 36 points and had five made 3s in the game.
His defense on LeBron James also helped the Thunder maintain the lead. George did not want to LeBron to have the spotlight, as the game was the first time he wore his new PG2 sneakers.
According to ESPN‘s Royce Young, Paul George said the following about LeBron chasing 30,000:
Paul George on if he was aware LeBron needed 25 for 30,000, and if that was a little extra motivation defensively: “I’ve been a part of a lot of those baskets he had so that’s an achievement or milestone I didn’t want to be a part of.” pic.twitter.com/aUuEzoPY1E
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) January 21, 2018
Carmelo Anthony had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Steven Adams added 25 points and 10 rebounds and Russell Westbrook finished with 23 points, 20 assists and nine rebounds.
Raymond Felton and Terrance Ferguson had eight and nine respectively. The offense has been clicking lately for the Thunder and they have gotten the defense back to where it was before with Andre Roberson back in the lineup.
They are third in defensive rating with 102.4. They mixed enough defense with championship-level offense to win this game easily.
What has worked for the Thunder is the fact that when Adams, Westbrook, George and Anthony score double-digits in those big games they usually win.
That’s the second 20p/20a game for @russwest44 in his career. pic.twitter.com/Ho2unWM0zc
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 20, 2018
The only game against the top three in each conference that wasn’t like that was the San Antonio game, where Anthony and George scored nine and eight respectively, but Roberson was able to score eight points.
This emerging trend will have to continue every game for the Thunder so they can build a double digit winning streak.
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OKC has not been a dominant team this season, but they do have dominant wins against dominant teams. That is enough to keep hopes up this season.