The Cleveland Cavaliers’ opening possession Wednesday evening set the tone for their emphatic, 129-122 victory over the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. After Dean Wade set a screen for Darius Garland, he shuffled inside while Garland engaged with Jarrett Allen for a pick-and-roll.
As Allen caught Garland’s snappy, punctual pocket pass, Wade scurried to the weak-side corner, with Evan Mobley clearing space by sauntering closer toward the wing. Wade’s defender, Cason Wallace, elected to run interference on Allen’s dive inside, which left him open just a pass away from the action. As Wallace and Isaiah Hartenstein collapsed on the big man, he seamlessly swiveled his hips and delivered a feed to Wade for the open corner triple. Wade confidently hoisted and drilled the long ball a split-second before Wallace could close out.
The bucket represented three of Cleveland’s 129 points — the most Oklahoma City has conceded in a game all season — and one of its 36 helpers on the night. Two hours later, the Cavaliers had made 15 of 36 threes (41.7 percent), snapped the Thunder’s 15-game winning streak, extended their own to 11 consecutive triumphs (now 12) and further staked a claim as the league’s most dangerous team.
All game, Cleveland vaporized Oklahoma City’s sprawling, pesky, historically dominant defense by virtue of crisp, connected playmaking. Not only are 129 points the most the Thunder have surrendered, the Cavaliers’ 129.0 offensive rating was the second-highest number for any of their opponents this year — just trailing the Golden State Warriors (129.6) on Nov. 10 when Chet Holmgren left early because of injury and Hartenstein was still sidelined. Prior to Wednesday, Oklahoma City’s highest defensive rating in a game where either Holmgren or Hartenstein suited up (and finished the contest) was 121.4 against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 1.
The Cavaliers Are On A Historic Pace
Tied for the best relative offensive rating in NBA history (how far above or below league average a team’s offensive rating is), the Cavaliers are an offensive juggernaut and one of the most splendid, efficient wrecking balls ever seen. Facing a rather imposing defensive unit in the Thunder on Wednesday, Cleveland’s greatness would be tested. And with their win, the Cavaliers emphasized how versatile and well-rounded they are offensively.
They’ve been a masterful passing team all year. But because they roster accomplished creators like Garland and Donovan Mitchell, and a budding third option in Mobley, they sit 12th in assist rate at 65 percent and 27th in passes per game (271.4). They’re a great passing team with personnel that doesn’t demand free-wheeling ball movement serve as the basis every trip down the floor. When they do opt to move the ball, though, they’re effective. They lead the league in assist to pass rate at 10.8 percent.
Against Oklahoma City, they really leaned into sharing the sugar and avoided testing the Thunder’s gamut of stout man-to-man defenders who are flanked by ball-hawking helpers around them. Their assist rate spiked to 76.6 percent, while their total passes jumped to 281.
Across all three broad positional groups — guards, wings and bigs — Cleveland is equipped with high-level passers. The depth and balance of that general skill was on display Wednesday night, helping the Cavaliers leverage their size inside over Oklahoma City and yielding numerous open looks beyond the arc.
Between its actual passing talent and Mobley and Allen’s existence, Cleveland is perhaps the league’s premier lob-throwing team. With the Thunder lacking interior bulk behind Hartenstein — given Holmgren’s injury and their carousel of small-ish 4s — the Cavaliers’ ability to maintain at least one aerial acrobat on the floor at all times proved quite the advantage.
They recorded nine dunks, produced a 42 percent rim frequency (second-highest mark for any 2024-25 Thunder opponent) and shot 70 percent there. On the year, Oklahoma City holds opposing clubs to a 31 percent rim frequency and 61 percent success rate.
Whether it was Garland, Mobley or Caris LeVert, Cleveland repeatedly found profits priming Allen for skying slams. When Oklahoma City played drop, the Cavaliers were diligent about eliminating or manipulating a weak-side corner defender to complicate the responsibility of tagging rollers. When Oklahoma City trapped (or went zone), they capitalized on the absence of an undersized backline behind Hartenstein.
Cleveland’s Chemistry Is Crucial
Beyond the sheer passing knack so many Cavaliers brandish, the benefit of their roster continuity shines in these situations. Sans Ty Jerome (who was on the team but injured), the entire rotation is the same as last season. The Core Four of Mitchell, Mobley, Garland and Allen are in their third year together. This group has faced nearly every defensive coverage possible. It knows each other’s tendencies and the optimal ways to dissect different schemes. Cohesion has bred an instantaneous processing speed across the team.
New head coach Kenny Atkinson has introduced far more cutting and off-ball movement this season. Those emphases spark chances directly and indirectly because everyone can shoot, finish or do both. Defenders have to account for their threat; nobody is listless window dressing. Cleveland owns the means to get them the ball with its immense passing prowess. Time and time again, that blend of passing and motion were the antidote to Oklahoma City’s brash, swarming defense.
Consistently and heavily tilting toward the strong-side, the Thunder defend like moths to a flame. The Cavaliers exploited them through identifying gaps left by their aggression, accessing them via prompt passing and capitalizing with superior size. According to Synergy, they average 1.44 points per possession on cuts, which is the NBA’s highest mark this season.
They know when and how each other are going to move, and wield proper playmaking chops to savor the rewards. The playmaking aspect is paramount, too. Movement harbors less of an impact without the passing to bolster it. Cleveland doesn’t face that problem.
Although Oklahoma City has endured other quality passing teams throughout the year, the distinguishing factor is Cleveland’s precision. It’s another similar hallmark of the front office’s decision to prioritize continuity over any major shakeup this summer, and emerged especially valuable for this box office bout.
The Thunder thrive on swift, intimidating recoveries after making bold strong-side rotations. Their physicality and synergy in scramble scenarios is rare, and a pillar of their elite status. Typically, they flood the ball, force passes elsewhere and reorganize themselves before offenses can keep them flying around in rotation.
See a window a beat late and it evaporates. That’s what they flourish on and expect. Yet the Cavaliers won this push-pull battle, absolutely acing the timing of their passes on various occasions — a testament to both their individual skills and the tangible impact of sustained togetherness.
Watch these four plays closely and slowly to recognize the necessity of those pristine passes. A beat later and the opportunity would be gone, just as the Thunder intend. But Cleveland was too sharp — which could double as the motto for each of its 33 victories this year.
The Cavaliers simply refused to let Oklahoma City enforce its preferred style. Their 15 giveaways may seem like a lot, particularly as they rank third in turnover rate (12.7 percent). But that’s a win against the Thunder, which leads the league in opposing turnover rate (18.7 percent) and are second in offensive turnover rate (12.7 percent).
Cleveland’s 15 percent turnover rate Wednesday was the sixth-lowest mark of the year among the Thunder’s opponents. They average a plus-6.9 turnover margin per game. The margin was only plus-two versus Cleveland.
Aside from an uptick in passing volume, the Cavaliers tweaked their shot profile to defeat Oklahoma City. A 42 percent rim frequency was their third-highest clip of the year, while a 36.4 percent 3-point rate was their sixth-lowest clip of 2024-25. In both process and execution, they adapted to punish a mauling defense. They are malleable and supremely potent, even when a historic unit stands on the other side.
Wednesday declared that as much as any regular season contest probably can. It’s a boisterous statement largely stemming from the wide-ranging passing brilliance on Cleveland’s roster — a roster now nearing half a season outpacing and rubbing shoulders with the greatest offenses of all-time.
