Thunder achieve revenge, feed need for Cleveland-OKC NBA Finals

A lot can change in a week. And in just a week's time, the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to gain ground in their argument as being the NBA's best team. 

On Thursday, the Thunder beat the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers 134-114, avenging their loss from just seven days ago. This now moves both team's overall records to 34-6. 

Back on Jan. 9, the Cavaliers won 129-122 in a matchup that was moved to national TV and billed as a potential NBA Finals preview. But Oklahoma City made sure Cleveland wasn't able to hold bragging rights for too long. 

While his 31 points a week ago weren't enough, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stepped up his game even more to ensure his team got the victory in the second time around. Gilgeous-Alexander connected on 17-of-26 shots and scored 40 points in the Thunder's win. He actually had an impact all over the court, adding eight assists and three rebounds. 

Playing like an MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander has surpassed 30 points in six of eight games played since the calendar turned to 2025. He also posted 40 on the final day of 2024 in a New Year's Eve win over Minnesota. 

But the reason why many believe the Thunder can play deep into June is because they are a balanced team beyond their top star. Luguentz Dort scored 22 and Jalen Williams put up 19 of his own against Cleveland. 

In contrast to Gilgeous-Alexander's big game and the Thunder putting their offensive depth on display, the Cavaliers once again saw their inconsistent superstar struggle when they needed him the most. After a really rough outing in the first matchup, Donovan Mitchell was even worse on Wednesday night. 

Mitchell, who entered the game averaging 23.1 points per game on the season, scored just eight points while shooting a pedestrian 20% from the field. He was 3-for-15 to be exact. This also came after he scored 35 at Indiana on Tuesday. 

Darius Garland led the Cavaliers in scoring with 20 and Jarrett Allen had 13, but Cleveland just didn't have nearly enough to hang with Oklahoma City in the second battle between the two conference leaders. 

Some could argue the Thunder's revenge win shows they are actually the better team, especially since they have been without Chet Holmgren since November. 

However, the reality is these two games put together show why an Oklahoma City vs. Cleveland NBA Finals would have all the makings of a classic series.