The first meeting between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder was one of the most highly anticipated so far this season and it did not disappoint.

Both teams entered the match at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on top of their respective conferences, with the East-leading Cavaliers sporting a 31-4 record while the West’s best Thunder owned a 30-5 slate. What made this game even more special was that it marked the first time in league history that a team with an ongoing 15-game winning streak (Oklahoma City) faced off against a team on a run of 10 consecutive wins (Cleveland) among many other firsts. 

The battle lived up to expectations, with 30 lead changes and eight ties. The Cavaliers may have taken the lead for good, 108-107, off a lay-up from Max Strus with 9:05 left in the fourth period, but the Thunder stayed close. Oklahoma City was still within three points of Cleveland until the 1:07 mark when Evan Mobley hit a tough runner over Isaiah Hartenstein to bump up the Cavaliers’ lead to five, 127-122. Darius Garland then sealed the game for Cleveland with a lay-up on their next possession. 

Cleveland walked away with a crucial 129-122 win that extended their winning streak to 11 and improved their league best record to 32-4. Their hot start to the season has them on pace for a 73-win season which would tie the 2016 Golden State Warriors for the all-time record

What made this win even more impressive for the Cavaliers is that they did it despite Donovan Mitchell’s poor shooting night. The five-time NBA All-Star entered the night as Cleveland’s leading scorer averaging 22.9 points per game, but was limited by the Thunder’s league-best defense to only 11 points on three-of-16 field goal shooting.

Oklahoma City succeeded in its mission to neutralize Mitchell—but the rest of the Cavaliers were more than ready to pick up the slack. On the biggest stage that they have played on this season so far, Cleveland sent a clear message to the rest of the league that this team is far from a one man show.

The Cavaliers’ twin towers pairing of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley shined the brightest as they recorded superb all-around lines. Allen led the team in scoring with 25 points on a near-perfect nine-of-11 field goal shooting while he also had 11 rebounds–seven of which were on the offensive end–six assists, three steals, and a block. Mobley had an impressive evening too, tallying 21 points on 13 shots, 10 rebounds, seven assists, a steal, and a block. 

These two manhandled the Thunder’s much smaller frontcourt that featured Isaiah Hartenstein as its sole true big man down the stretch. Oklahoma was without the 7’1 Chet Holmgren, the team’s third-best player at worst, who remains sidelined with a hip injury. Holmgren’s presence alongside Hartenstein would have made a world’s difference as it would have given the Thunder a fair match-up height-wise for the duo of Allen and Mobley. This potential match-up only makes the thought of an NBA Finals meeting between these two teams even more enticing.

Cleveland’s two point guards, starter Darius Garland and reserve Ty Jerome, played key roles as well, with Garland posting 18 points, two three-pointers, and seven assists. Meanwhile, Jerome contributed 15 points on six-of-seven shots in less than 12 minutes of play, including a spurt midway through the fourth quarter where he scored six consecutive points to keep Oklahoma City at bay.

This win should give the Cavaliers an early edge in the 2025 NBA title conversation, but there is still a long way to go before they can mark this campaign a success. If anything, this win should be treated as a mere checkpoint, proving to Cleveland that they have what it takes to take out the best team in the West. The Thunder have the opportunity to get even as early as next week though as these two teams are set to face off, this time at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center.