The two best teams in the NBA — the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder — squared off in the first game in league history featuring clubs on 15 and 10 games winning streaks.
Oklahoma City entered Wednesday’s showdown having won 15 games in a row, while Cleveland came into the contest winners of 10 straight.
In an exciting and tense back-and-forth game, the NBA’s best Cavaliers extended their winning streak to 11 games after defeating the Western Conference’s best Thunder 129-122 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
The marquee matchup had 30 lead changes.
Cleveland has won at least 11 straight games for the second time. The Cavs started the season 15-0.
Oklahoma City’s 15-game winning streak is snapped as the Thunder suffered its first loss since December 1
Seven Cavaliers finished in double-digits led by center Jarrett Allen who had 25 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Power forward Evan Mobley added 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
“It felt like a battle the whole night. They were scoring. We were scoring, getting stops on both sides. At the end of the night, it came down to which team had more effort,” Allen said after the victory.
Allen and Mobley are the first Cavaliers’ teammates with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists since LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on November 17, 2017.
Thunder all-star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 31 points on 13-of-27 shooting and forward Jalen Williams finished with 25 points, nine assists and five rebounds in the losing effort.
The Cavs and Thunder will meet again on January 16 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Cleveland improved to 32-4 and next hosts the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.
Oklahoma City dropped to 30-6 and take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday.