Even diminished, the Thunder make short work of the Cavaliers

Unlike Darius Garland among Cavaliersthe absences of Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein do not interfere Thunderwho signed the first period of excellent quality, to come to rest well (66-51). Even when rebounding is tough, the best team in the country is a killer shooter, especially on 3-pointers, in addition to offering little ammunition to their opponents with the ball. Halftime ends 16-6.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, true to himself in the middle distance and close to the circle, can count on the contribution of the tandem of Lugence Dort – Isaiah Joe, who burns from afar, and the racket of Chet Holmgren – Jailin Williams, who uses the smallest opportunity to score. Conversely, Donovan Mitchell is stifled, De’Andre Hunter is coming off the bench, and only Evan Mobley is showing his upside.

At -20, stunned by a fresh streak from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, Cleveland finally gets off to a 14-2 start. However, Donovan Mitchell is on the bench, but the pair of Evan Mobley – Jarrett Allen works a lot inside and it forces “SGA” and Holmgren to work, while the deficit is reduced to -8 in favor of Oklahoma City.

Except Grom never doubts for long. Without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at rest, Chet Holmgren took the opportunity to transform into the Cavaliers’ executioner. Like a big man, he sparked a 12-3 run that put his team back in the chair and, despite Donovan Mitchell finally getting some offense going, the champions were too adept from behind the arc to let themselves be caught.

On arrival, and at the cost of 23-5 in the last four minutes, the score is also very high: 136-104. But it hasn’t been stolen yet.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– OKC without mercy. With an impressive 23-of-47 3-pointers, the Thunder rolled the Cavaliers in addition to suffocating them on defense, forcing them to take shots that were always difficult, contested and out of rhythm, or forcing them to lose possessions in order to spread out on quick plays later. The Gilgeous-Alexander/Holmgren duo was responsible for fueling the scoring all evening, and the heat from behind the arc from Lugentz Dort and Isaiah Joe in the first half also helped make the break before the break. A show of force, in deserved form, from the reigning champions, hardly shaken in this match.

– Cleveland did not box in the same category. In addition to the inability to shut down the Thunder’s shooters, the Cavaliers suffered a lot when it came to skin care (21 turnovers), which constantly destabilized them on defense. Certainly, the dominance of the offensive rebound (19 shots) and aggressiveness towards the circle (28 of 35) allowed for a brief illusion, but the gap between the two teams was too great. In any case, Donovan Mitchell’s teammates across the way couldn’t have hoped for better by shooting 37%, going a miserable 8 of 35 on 3-pointers.

– Two more injured in OKC. After Jaylen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein (in addition to Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber, of course), now Alex Caruso and Jaylin Williams, who were hit during the game, are joining the Thunder hospital. The former is suffering from a groin strain and the latter from a back strain, which complicates Mark Daign’s task a little more, but paves the way for Usman Dieng to return to the rotation.

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How to read statistics? Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive jump; T = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = point difference when the player is on the court; Points = Points; Rating: player rating calculated based on positive actions – negative actions.