The Thunder scores the same and crushes the Cavs in the match between the NBA’s best teams

OKLAHOMA CITY — The rematch between the NBA’s top two heavyweights ended in an early knockout.

The final score of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 134-114 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night only hinted at how dominant the Thunder were in avenging a loss in the Jan. 8 thriller between the teams with the NBA’s best records.

In the previous matchup, the Cavaliers pulled out a 129-122 victory in a game that featured 30 lead changes and wasn’t decided until the final minute. The Thunder put this game out of reach at halftime as Oklahoma City held a 26-point lead, Cleveland’s largest deficit of the season.

The lead grew to 42 points in the third quarter before the benches emptied.

“They imposed their will in every sense,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said after the Cavaliers fell to 34-6, matching the Thunder’s record. “We knew it was coming. We knew their strength was coming. That’s their identity. They imposed their identity. It was an avalanche and we never responded.”

Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander single-handedly outscored the Cavaliers by a 15-14 margin in the first quarter en route to finishing with 40 points in just 29 minutes. He became the first player in Thunder/SuperSonic history to score 40 in less than 30 minutes, according to ESPN Research, going 17-of-26 from the floor and also dishing out eight assists.

“I was just playing basketball, the game I love,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, downplaying the idea that the recent loss to the Cavaliers provided added motivation. “I work hard. Try to give the game everything and see what it gives back to me.”

Oklahoma City’s top-ranked defense gave up very little to the league’s most efficient offense, just eight days after Cleveland had the highest scoring outing of any Thunder opponent this season.

“It felt like seven pit bulls out there. Not five,” Atkinson said. “They scratched, reached — in a good way. Their speed and athleticism, they kind of knocked us over. It was as simple as that. That’s their calling card. They’ve done it for a lot of teams. They dominated in every aspect.”

The Thunder held the Cavaliers to 49 points in the first half and forced 13 turnovers, which Oklahoma City converted into 22 points, nearly matching the Thunder’s league-leading average of 23.2 points per game. game scored off turnovers at halftime.

“That’s our DNA,” said Thunder star forward Jalen Williams, who finished with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks in 30 minutes. “We’re just trying to play hard all the time. When we can get our communication and just our core principles in the game — and we didn’t do a good job of that the first time we played them and were able to do that tonight — and I think that makes it difficult for the teams.”

Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell had a poor performance while being harassed by Thunder guard Lu Dort, scoring a season-high eight points on 3-of-15 shooting. Mitchell credited the Thunder for being the “more mentally and physically tough team” and said the blame for the Cavaliers’ abysmal performance should begin with him.

Dort also played a big role on the offensive end, scoring a season-high 22 points and going 6-of-9 from 3-point range.

“They just set the tone,” said Mitchell, who was held to 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting in the recent win over the Thunder. “We didn’t come ready to play. Put this on me. As a manager, you’ve got to set the tone. It’s doubly against this team now that I haven’t been. When your manager doesn’t do that, that seeps down.”

The Cavaliers’ big tandem of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley were non-factors in Oklahoma City despite the Thunder missing their 7-foot tandem of Isaiah Hartenstein (calf strain) and Chet Holmgren (broken pelvis).

Allen and Mobley combined for 18 points, 10 rebounds and one assist, compared to their output of 46 points, 21 rebounds and 13 assists in the previous meeting between the challengers. The Cavaliers played significant stretches before garbage time without any of the big men on the floor in an attempt to match Oklahoma City’s speed.

“The obvious thing is they’re bigger than us, and our whole goal was just to be so good at playing small that they’re going to try to play small and can’t have them both out there on the court at the same time.” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And I think we did a really good job of that tonight. Being dirty when the bigs brought the ball down, getting those loose balls, helping each other out, scrambling. Obviously we got on a run and they had to to make some changes and once the game gets small, it’s pretty much our game, our style.”