Report: Heavyweight matchup between Cavs and Thunder boosts NBA ratings and pushes Cleveland Cavaliers to No. 1 trending topic
Perhaps the most exciting game of the 2024-25 NBA regular season to this point was the one played between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder On January 8th. The contest featured eight ties and 30 lead changes, and featured some of the league’s brightest stars – including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Behind 25 points, 11 rebounds and six assists from Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen, Cleveland won the contest by seven points and thus snapped Oklahoma City’s 15-game winning streak.
Considering that two teams who are off to an incredibly strong start to the season squared off on Wednesday, it should come as no surprise that the game got rave reviews. The game averaged 1.87 million viewers and peaked at 2.5 million viewers.
Fans will soon get another chance to see Oklahoma City and Cleveland play each other. The Cavaliers will look for their second win of the season over the Thunder when they face the top seed in the Western Conference at Paycom Center on Jan. 16.
“The highly-anticipated OKC-CLE game averaged 1.87 million viewers on ESPN Wednesday night, up +20% versus the comparable window last year,” NBA PR’s X posted. He reads. “The game peaked with 2.5 million viewers. The back-and-forth competition that included 30 lead changes propelled the Cleveland Cavaliers into the most popular topic worldwide on X during the game.
“The two teams face off in ‘The Rematch’ next Thursday, January 16, at 7:30 PM ET on @NBAonTNT.”
It’s very likely that neither the Thunder nor the Cavaliers will suffer another loss until they meet again in less than a week.
The Cavaliers have won each of their last 12 contests and have two games against Indiana Pacers Before they face Thunder. Conversely, Oklahoma City has games against New York Knicks, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers In his schedule prior to the confrontation.
Despite the fact that the Cavaliers and Thunder have been coming off wins like a Lego, they have yet to prove they can make deep playoff runs with their current core. The start of the 2025 NBA Playoffs is still months away, and both teams are on the heels of second-round exits in last year’s playoffs.
The Cavaliers were rebounded by Boston Celtics In five matches, the Thunder lost to… Dallas Mavericks In six matches.
The Jan. 16 matchup between Cleveland and Oklahoma City could be just as entertaining as the Jan. 8 game, and the Cavaliers could head into that game with a 14-game winning streak if they can beat the Pacers twice in the coming days.
