Third quarter report
Just another quarter stands between the Cavaliers and the win they would have preferred to achieve this evening. At 106-105, they looked like they were the better team, but there was still another quarter to play.
The Cavaliers entered the game on a 10-game winning streak, and they are just one quarter behind each other. Will they get to 11 or will the Thunder go ahead and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s playing
Oklahoma City Thunder x Cleveland Cavaliers
Current records: Oklahoma City 30-5, Cleveland 31-4
How to watch
- when: Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 7 PM ET
- where: Rocket Field House Mortgage – Cleveland, Ohio
- television: espn
- He follows: CBS Sports app
- Online broadcast: com. fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket cost: $73.00
What do you know?
The Thunder have enjoyed five home games, but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:00 PM ET on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Thunder’s defense has only allowed 103 points per game this season, so the Cavaliers’ offense is going to have to stop working for them.
The Thunder are heading for this level after speculators set a low or low of last week’s 225, but even that ended up being too high. They started the new year by defeating the Celtics 105-92 on Sunday. The win came thanks to a strong run that started at 1:15 in the second quarter, when Oklahoma City was facing a 65-52 deficit.
It was another big night for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. It was his fifth straight game with at least 30 points.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers had already won nine straight (a stretch in which they outscored their opponents by an average of 17.3 points) and advanced to 10 on Sunday. They came away with a 115-105 win over Charlotte.
Several players had strong performances to lead the Cavaliers to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jarrett Allen, who posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Furthermore, Allen also tallied five offensive rebounds, his most since November 2024.
The Cavaliers were a unit and finished with 29 assists (they rank fifth in assists per game overall). This strong performance was nothing new for the team: they have now provided at least 25 assists in 14 consecutive matches.
Oklahoma City has been on the rise lately: They’ve won 19 of their last 20 games, providing a nice boost to their 30-5 record this season. As for Cleveland, it was its eighth straight win at home, raising its record to 31-4.
Rebounding will likely be a big factor in this contest: The Thunder haven’t given up the ball easily this season, averaging just 11.2 turnovers per game (ranking first in turnovers per game overall). However, it’s not like the Cavaliers (currently ranked third) struggle in this department as they average just 12.3. Given these competing strengths, it will be interesting to see how their conflict will develop.
The Thunder will be hoping to overcome the odds on Wednesday, as experts believe they are headed toward a loss. They may be worth a quick bet considering they have covered the spread the last five times they have played.
probability
Cleveland is a slight 2.5-point favorite against Oklahoma City, according to the latest news NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line on this one, as the game opened with the Cavaliers as two-point favorites.
The high/low is 229 pips.
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Series history
Oklahoma City has won 6 of its last 10 games against Cleveland.
- November 08, 2023 – Oklahoma City 128 vs. Cleveland 120
- October 27, 2023 – Oklahoma City 108 vs. Cleveland 105
- January 27, 2023 – Oklahoma City 112 vs. Cleveland 100
- December 10, 2022 – Cleveland 110 vs. Oklahoma City 102
- January 22, 2022 – Cleveland 94 vs. Oklahoma City 87
- January 15, 2022 – Cleveland 107 vs. Oklahoma City 102
- April 08, 2021 – Cleveland 129 vs. Oklahoma City 102
- February 21, 2021 – Oklahoma City 117 vs. Cleveland 101
- February 05, 2020 – Oklahoma City 109 vs. Cleveland 103
- January 04, 2020 – Oklahoma City 121 vs. Cleveland 106