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Thunder beat Cavaliers 124-116 as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 42 and Oklahoma City holds off Cleveland’s comeback
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 and made 15 of 19 free throws as the Thunder, up by as many as 25, held off a Cleveland rally led by Donovan Mitchell's 27 to win 124-116 and improve to 6-2.
In this article
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points on 11-of-26 shooting and went 15 of 19 at the free-throw line, and the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-116 at Paycom Center on Wednesday, November 4, after leading by as many as 25. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 for Cleveland, which outscored Oklahoma City 42-36 in the fourth quarter and got within six, 117-111, with 46.7 seconds left. The Thunder improved to 6-2, and the Cavaliers fell to 4-4.
A 37-20 first quarter
Oklahoma City led 37-20 after one quarter, and the Thunder went on a 15-0 run in the first, turning a 10-9 lead into a 25-9 lead with 3:55 left. Kenrich Williams hit a 26-foot three off a Gilgeous-Alexander pass, Ajay Mitchell scored three points, Williams added a layup, Aday Mara dunked, and Bennett Stirtz and Gilgeous-Alexander scored, while Cleveland went 5:11 without scoring until Meleek Thomas hit a 24-footer off a Donovan Mitchell pass with 3:01 left.
Video: Oklahoma City Thunder / X.
A 25-point lead
Micah Peavy opened the second quarter with a layup off an Isaiah Hartenstein pass, Alex Caruso made two free throws and a three, and Jared McCain’s driving layup off a Stirtz pass made it 50-25 with 6:27 left in the half, the Thunder’s biggest lead at 25 points. Cleveland answered with James Harden, who hit two step-back threes, made three free throws and assisted on a Tristan Enaruna layup and a Sam Merrill three, and Evan Mobley hit a 25-footer with 18.6 seconds left to make it 60-44 at halftime.
Cleveland opened the second half with a 9-0 run, in which Harden scored seven points on two free throws, a floater and a step-back three, and Donovan Mitchell added a layup to cut it to 60-53 with 9:37 left. Gilgeous-Alexander answered with a 13-footer, Ajay Mitchell scored on a layup and Stirtz hit a three off a Gilgeous-Alexander pass. Oklahoma City led 88-74 after three.
Cleveland’s fourth-quarter comeback
Oklahoma City opened the fourth on a 14-3 run to lead 96-77 with 10:33 left, on a Williams three off an Ajay Mitchell pass, a McCain three off a Hartenstein pass and a Mitchell layup. Cleveland trimmed it with threes from Mario Hezonja, Thomas and Tyrese Proctor, and Donovan Mitchell hit a 24-footer off a Harden pass to make it 112-99 with 3:11 left.
Video: Oklahoma City Thunder / X.
Mitchell then hit threes with 1:40, 1:15 and 46.7 seconds left, nine points in less than a minute, to cut it to 117-111. Gilgeous-Alexander made four free throws in 25 seconds, with a Mobley dunk off a Hezonja pass in between, and Ajay Mitchell added a free throw before Merrill’s three with 18.1 seconds left made it 122-116. Gilgeous-Alexander made two more free throws with 15.0 seconds left. He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter.
The numbers
Oklahoma City shot 41 of 88 (47%), made 15 of 36 threes and 27 of 35 free throws, had 25 assists and just 10 turnovers, and won the fast break 21-12 and the paint 44-40. The Thunder outrebounded Cleveland 47-45. Cleveland shot 40 of 93 (43%), made 19 of 49 threes (39%) and 17 of 19 free throws, had 19 assists and 14 turnovers, and blocked 6 shots.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 8 assists and 4 turnovers in 35 minutes. Ajay Mitchell scored 23 on 9-of-17 shooting with 7 rebounds and 4 assists, Stirtz had 16 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting in 22 minutes, and Williams scored 13. Hartenstein scored 3 points with 12 rebounds and 4 assists, and Mara had 9 points and 3 blocks.
Cleveland’s side
Donovan Mitchell shot 10 of 17 and 5 of 10 from three for 27 points and 6 assists. Harden scored 19 on 5-of-16 shooting, going 6 of 6 at the line, with 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Mobley had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, Hezonja had 12, Proctor 11, Merrill 10 and Thomas 9. Jarrett Allen played 7 minutes and did not score.
What’s next
The Cavaliers host the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, November 6, at 7:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. Saturday Cairo time). The Thunder visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, November 6, at 8:00 p.m. ET (3:00 a.m. Saturday Cairo time).
Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head.
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