The Cleveland Cavaliers ran into the same wall twice in three days. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the visiting Cavaliers 124-116 on Wednesday, Nov. 4, completing a home-and-home sweep that began with a five-point win in Cleveland on Nov. 2, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
The two games, taken together, were a measuring-stick series against the Western Conference’s standard. On Monday in Cleveland, the Thunder won by five behind 43 points from Gilgeous-Alexander; on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, the margin was eight only because of Cleveland’s late push, and Gilgeous-Alexander finished one point shy of matching Monday’s total — 85 points across two games against the same defense.
The night turned early, and it turned on an injury. Late in the first quarter, Cleveland center Jarrett Allen sustained a right knee injury as he collided with Jared McCain while setting a screen, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Allen left the game and did not return, finishing scoreless in seven minutes — and the Cavaliers’ interior defense left with him.
Oklahoma City took control with a 25-7 run in the first quarter that included eight points by rookie Bennett Stirtz, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. By midway through the second quarter the Thunder were up 50-25, and the lead grew as large as 25 points in the first half, with the Thunder in front from start to finish.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, did his damage in layers, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. In the first half he worked mainly along the perimeter, with seven of his 12 shots coming from beyond the 3-point arc; after halftime he took the game over, scoring 16 of his 42 points in each of the final two quarters.
Cleveland’s one real push came in the opening minutes of the second half, when the Cavaliers cut the deficit to seven on seven quick points by James Harden and a bucket by Donovan Mitchell, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting, Harden added 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Evan Mobley totaled 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The production was there from Cleveland’s stars even in defeat: Mitchell and Harden combined for 46 points, and Mobley added a double-double, according to the Akron Beacon Journal’s account. The problem was everything around them — a first quarter lost 25-7 during Oklahoma City’s decisive run, a season-low 43 percent shooting night for the team, and a frontcourt thinned the moment Allen limped off in the opening period.
Coming out of an Oklahoma City timeout, Gilgeous-Alexander halted the run himself — a mid-range jumper, assists on back-to-back drives, a fadeaway jumper and a step-back 3-pointer, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. The Cavaliers never got closer than eight again until the final minute, when Gilgeous-Alexander sank six free throws in the final 41 seconds to close it out.
He finished 11 of 26 from the field with five 3-pointers — one off his career high — and eight assists, winding up one point short of the 43 he produced on Monday in Cleveland, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Oklahoma City also got 23 points from Ajay Mitchell and a career-high 16 from Stirtz.
The Thunder did it short-handed, still without three starters — Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace — though key bench contributor Alex Caruso returned after missing three games with an ankle injury, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Caruso’s defense helped hold the Cavaliers to a season-low 43 percent shooting from the floor.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What is confirmed: the final score, the sweep, and that Allen’s right knee injury knocked him out in the first quarter. What is not yet known is the severity of that injury — the Cavaliers have offered no timeline, and Allen’s status is the single biggest question hanging over the team coming out of Oklahoma City. Northeast Ohio’s other teams gave fans better nights this week, from the Blue Jackets’ 7-2 rout of the Avalanche to Ohio’s rally past Akron in MAC play.
What happens next for Cleveland is a medical update before it is a game plan: until the team says how long Allen is out, every rotation decision runs through his knee. The Cavaliers return home to Rocket Arena needing both a healthier frontcourt and an answer for elite guards after Gilgeous-Alexander scored 85 points across the two-game sweep.
Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY