OKLAHOMA CITY — Dribbling the ball between his legs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stared down his next victim. As Tyrese Proctor was left alone on an island, the two-time MVP vindicated his outside-happy shot diet. He drilled a stepback 3-pointer that sealed another momentum-building night in their new NBA reality.
The Oklahoma City Thunder came out with ample energy in a 124-116 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers . They're slowly relearning how to play without Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace.
Super-sizing the starting lineup, the Thunder absolutely ran the Cavaliers out of the gym from the jump. Kenrich Williams knocked down an outside jumper. He slashed to the rim. The ball ping-ponged around as Alex Caruso's return from a three-game absence was met with roaring applause.
It didn't take long for the Thunder to put up some wacky scores. At one point, it was 25-9. And then 30-15. They had a 37-20 lead after the first quarter. Pretty surreal to see them completely out-energize Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. The onslaught continued in the second frame.
At one point, the Thunder doubled up the Cavaliers on the scoreboard, 50-25. The second unit kept the momentum going as the Cavaliers looked half-asleep and ready to get out of town in their sole trip to OKC of the year. The Thunder had 23 points in the second frame. They entered halftime with a 60-44 lead over the Cavaliers.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Cavaliers tried to make up ground quickly. They rattled off the first nine points of the second half. Harden drained an outside jumper through contact. And then Mitchell went coast-to-coast for a fastbreak layup. Once OKC saw its lead fall to single-digit points, Gilgeous-Alexander quit with the trolling shot diet of pull-up 3-pointers. He returned to his bread and butter.
Overall, the Thunder rebounded well. They had 28 points in the third quarter. That kept them a healthy distance from the Cavaliers with an 88-74 lead. For the most part, OKC stiff-armed Cleveland on the scoreboard. Micah Peavy has provided a jolt of defensive energy. So did Caruso — per usual.
After Caruso fed Aday Mara a dump-off pass for a cutting dunk, that felt like the punctuation mark. The Thunder had a 111-93 lead with a little under four minutes to go. Of course, the Cavaliers made a fake hot run. Mitchell tried his best Tracy McGrady impersonation by knocking down unconscious deep jumpers. Alas, all that did was extent the game by about a dozen minutes. Also helped Gilgeous-Alexander cross 40 points for a second consecutive game.
The Thunder had 36 points in the fourth quarter. That was just enough to keep up with Cleveland's high-scoring 42 points in the final frame. Needing a morale boost. OKC's two-game sweep over the Cavaliers has brought most of the fanbase back into the cautiously optimistic side of things.
The Thunder shot 46% from the field and went 15-of-36 (41.7%) from 3. They shot 27-of-35 on free throws. They had 25 assists on 41 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 42 points and eight assists. Ajay Mitchell helped with 23 points and seven rebounds. Bennett Stirtz stepped up with 16 points. Williams had 13 points and four rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers shot 43% from the field and went 19-of-49 (38.8%) from 3. They shot 17-of-19 on free throws. They had 19 assists on 40 baskets. Six Cavaliers players scored double-digit points.
Mitchell had a sizzling 27 points and six assists. Harden finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Evan Mobley had a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double. Proctor tallied 11 points. Mario Hezonja had 12 points and eight rebounds. Sam Merrill chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
I think the Thunder are finding their groove in the Post-D.C.C. (Dub, Chet, Caso) era. Two convincing wins over the Cavaliers is a leap in the right direction. Gilgeous-Alexander has happily taken on the burden of being a one-man show. Mitchell and friends have done enough to help him out. This is probably their best bet at a sustainable formula to stay in the NBA playoff race.
It took a minute to move past three season-altering injuries, but the Thunder have reformed into a winning team. At least with these two quality wins over an inconsistent Cavaliers. Say what you want about Cleveland's title odds, but beating Mitchell and Harden with a glued-together group is worth the celebration. Every win is extra precious in this interim undermanned era.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Laying his hands on his knees, breathing in deep breaths, Gilgeous-Alexander was exhausted. Beyond exhausting, really. But the two-time MVP winner knows this is just part of his grueling mission to keep the Thunder relevant in the title picture until help arrives. The OKC crowd recognized that, too — as it showered him with MVP chants.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 42 points on 11-of-26 shooting, eight assists and four rebounds. He shot 5-of-11 from 3 and went 15-of-19 on free throws. He also had one block.
After Luka Doncic's fanbase paraded the social media streets to celebrate Gilgeous-Alexander's demise, the 28-year-old quickly reminded the NBA world why he's been smack-dab in the middle of the conversation for best player in the world. Back-to-back 40-burgers are quite the heavy reminder. Especially considering the dire health circumstances the Thunder are dealing with for the foreseeable future.
After just 10 points in the first half, Gilgeous-Alexander was cruel to give the Cavaliers false hope of a normal night. The walking 30-point bucket perfectly read the room. No more messing around with stepback 3-pointers. Especially since Cleveland quickly sliced OKC's lead from 20-plus to single digits. The second half was one of his more masterful one-on-one performances of the year. And perhaps kickstarted his annual MVP campaign.
It was a return to form for Gilgeous-Alexander. No more junk-food-esque outside jumpers. Instead, he dissected Cleveland's defense within the perimeter. He buried them with a handful of demoralizing mid-range jumpers he rainbowed in. He also slithered his way around contact for fancy finishes at the rim. Putting the Cavaliers in panic mode, he also forced them to give up his highest free-throw total of the season.
It was basketball poetry in motion. Like watching da Vinci paint the Mona Lisa. When Gilgeous-Alexander gets into a scoring zone like that, he's impossible to slow down. He absorbs bumps and bounces off guys. He's made it a habit to nail highly-difficult jumpers in motion. His scoring superpowers left the Cavaliers desperate with 10 free-throw attempts in the final frame alone.
The Thunder are going to likely need Gilgeous-Alexander to play like this for the next two months. Sure, he was able to be on cruise control in the first half. But once the role players crashed back down to Earth a little, the two-time MVP winner went to work to ensure the victory. A 32-point second half quickly made a frustrating first half a distant memory. That's 85 points scored in the last two games. Once again, we're seeing one of the greatest scorers ever at the peak of his powers.
Seeing Mobley in front of him, Mitchell burst with velocity to get to the cup. The 24-year-old bumper-car'd his way past the former DPOY winner. He went up for the driving layup. The blue-collar finish was probably his best of the night as he sliced through Cleveland.
Mitchell finished with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and went 4-of-6 on free throws. He also had one steal.
Since the Thunder started the Post-D.C.C. era, Mitchell has turned into a habitual 20-point scorer. I guess when you're surrounded by absolute doomsday news, his level-up has been a rare bright spot. It's asking a lot from your once-penciled-in Sixth Man to put up these numbers for two months, but that's going to be required if OKC is going to survive this short-handed stretch.
Mitchell's scoring style had a picture-perfect matchup. The Cavaliers had zero true perimeter defenders. With Mitchell and Harden in front of him, I'm sure he licked his chops each time he had a one-on-one look. He had fine dining inside the paint. Nobody in Cleveland could slow him down as he's crafted the perfect combination of muscle and speed to make it a habit of being a downhill driver.
Mitchell had nine points in the fourth quarter. He helped Gilgeous-Alexander put this one away. I've said it a couple of times now, but this is what the Thunder have to do from here on out. They're going to be inconsistent nights, but if he can be a 20-point scorer, then OKC should have enough Band-Aids to patch a solid stretch. So far, he's aced his impromptu promotion.
Trailing the play, Stirtz was left wide open at the top of the key. As Gilgeous-Alexander contorted himself to kick it out, the 23-year-old paid off his trust. He swished in another outside jumper in the final seconds of the third quarter. That capped off his best night in the NBA yet.
Stirtz finished with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, one rebound and one assist. He shot 4-of-7 from 3. He also had two steals.
Opportunities always arise after catastrophic injuries. Once again, the Thunder are learning that firsthand through another year. Stirtz is the latest example. Not much was expected from him at the start of the regular season, but several absences have pushed him to be a vital rotation piece. This was the first glimpse of OKC's vision for his eventual long-term role.
Stirtz absolutely lit it up from the outside. He needed very little time or space to put up a shot attempt. Gilgeous-Alexander kept feeding him the ball and he kept knocking it down. He had 10 points in the first half as the Thunder ballooned their lead by as many as 25 points.
It wasn't just the outside jumpers, either. Stirtz was active across the board. His best highlight was a steal-and-score layup. This is going to take a committee approach as Gilgeous-Alexander and Mitchell are the clear two best scorers for now. Beyond those two, though, the rest of their scoring has to come from a bundle of different role players on a night-to-night basis. That includes the 23-year-old if he's up to the challenge. The minutes are there.
Getting the game started, Williams swished in an outside jumper. He then zipped past Cleveland's defense for a rare driving layup. Those first two buckets showed the type of night the Thunder would enjoy. The 31-year-old has seamlessly taken on his largest workload in years.
Williams finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 3-of-5 from 3.
It didn't take long for the Thunder to punch the Cavaliers first. They flirted with a 20-point lead in the first quarter alone. Williams helped with that with 10 points. His outside jumper helped OKC keep the spacing manageable as it started Aday Mara and Isaiah Hartenstein. That's been a real plus for him to start this season.
On the other end, Williams did an admirable job on Harden. He kept him quiet in the first half before he went on a mini-run in the second. Still, the 31-year-old was being asked to guard one of the greatest NBA scorers ever — even if he's in the twilight stage of his career. That's no easy task. And he did just enough to secure the victory.
Since the Thunder were completely destroyed with injuries, Williams has been an unsung hero. Over the last handful of years, he's been a role player who has seldom been asked to play. Now, he's been jettisoned as a starter. Needing zero time to adjust to the sudden usage has helped OKC quickly readjust to its personnel. Now, they've regained their legs a little.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: SGA's 42 points lead Thunder to 124-116 win over Cavaliers
