To open the game, Darius Garland scored on a driving finger roll layup 27 seconds into the first quarter.
The 2-0 start marked the first — and only — lead change of the entire game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers gained a lead they never relinquished for the rest of the night in a 110-102 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite not letting the Cavaliers’ lead balloon to 20-plus points, the closest the Thunder got was a tie.
Even though they never took the lead, the Thunder made valiant efforts to steal a road game against the league-best home record Cavaliers. Especially in the fourth quarter, where they opened on a 17-7 run and even tied the game 89-89 at one point.
It felt like momentum was finally swinging the Thunder’s way and that they were going to somehow pull this upset win behind the unlikely outside shooting from Aleksej Pokusevski and Isaiah Joe.
After the Thunder quieted the home crowd with the tie, the Cavaliers finished the game on a 21-13 in the final seven minutes.
Alas, the Thunder dropped their second consecutive game against a Cavaliers squad missing Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Love.
For the Cavaliers, Caris LeVert — who started in place of Mitchell — made up for his scoring absence with 22 points on 9-of-22 shooting. Evan Mobley finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Jarrett Allen also collected a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B
This might’ve been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s quietest performance of the season.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. The 13 field goal attempts were a season-low for Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander eventually fouled out with 1:03 left in the game.
Two early first-quarter possessions foreshadowed Gilgeous-Alexander’s night as he resort to a rushed three-point attempt and was forced to pass out mid-drive by Evan Mobley.
Entering the game, the Cavaliers were second in the league in fewest points allowed in the paint at 45.5 points. Their two-headed frontcourt monster of Mobley and Jarrett Allen are the faces of the best defensive-rated team in the league.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who leads the league in drives, had a difficult time finessing his way around the lengthy wingspans of Mobley and Allen.
COUNT IT 😤
Shai continues to find ways to score at the rim.@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/YmHnfazCFJ
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 11, 2022
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander CANNOT be guarded.@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/m84IQ6xi1O
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 11, 2022
Stopping on a dime 💰@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/9urlRyPRvO
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 11, 2022
Aleksej Pokusevski: A-
Aleksej Pokusevski almost single-handedly won this game for the Thunder in the fourth quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander did not checking into the fourth quarter until the 4:46 mark. Outside of recharging his batteries, the Josh Giddey-led lineup on the floor that featured Pokusevski likely influenced Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault to not rush Gilgeous-Alexander back in.
In the fourth quarter, Pokuesevski scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 2-of-2 from three. Which is an impressive sign of resilience after Pokusevski started the game shooting 1-of-7 from the field in the first half.
Overall, Pokusevski finished with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting and 3-of-3 from three, 14 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Defense fueling offense! ⛽️@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/9UgonGzqVb
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 11, 2022
A string of threes initiates a 19-7 Thunder run ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/qr3TpO5B07
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 11, 2022
Poku finds Shai for the bucket 💪@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/kTSwFht9Mj
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 11, 2022
Josh Giddey: A-
As mentioned earlier, it was a Josh Giddey-led lineup that led the Thunder comeback attempt to start the fourth quarter. With Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench, Giddey helped lead the Thunder to a 17-7 fourth quarter start and eventually tied the game.
Giddey finished with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 13 rebounds and six assists.
On an individual level, Giddey surpassed the 1,000 career point mark this game as well.
Forced TO ➡️ 3 👌 pic.twitter.com/Ln5ARAYG11
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 11, 2022
STL & FG for Giddey pic.twitter.com/PRhM5qzVcl
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 11, 2022
Josh Giddey didn't have to do Robin Lopez like that 😅@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/tBvmt0rTP4
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 11, 2022
Isaiah Joe: B
At this point, it’s still surprising to see opposing teams leave Isaiah Joe open in the corners.
While the Thunder are one of the worst three-point shooting teams this season, it feels like Joe is one of the few Thunder players who opposing teams should not dare to shoot from outside.
Nonetheless, if Joe continues to have nights like these, the spacing he provides will eventually match with his shooting numbers.
Against the Cavaliers, Joe finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and went 3-of-6 from three. Joe helped lead the fourth quarter comeback with seven points on 2-of-4 shooting from outside.
ISAIAH JOE IS ON FIRE 😤
OKC down by 3 in 8 minutes to go!@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/iOX5MQrous
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 11, 2022
