Cavs Edge Thunder in Battle of NBA's Two Best Records

The Cavaliers earned a hard-fought home win on Wednesday night to improve to a league-best 32–4.

Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers outlasted the Thunder in a thrilling Wednesday night home tilt. / David Richard-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers improved to an NBA-best 32–4 with a 129–122 home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night in a battle featuring the league's two best records.

The Cavs rolled behind a 25-point, 12-rebound, six-assist performance from Jarrett Allen and a 21-point, 10-rebound, seven-assist effort from Evan Mobley. Donovan Mitchell added 18 for the Cavaliers, as all five starters scored in double-digits. Cleveland also earned contributions from the bench, as Max Strus scored 17 points and Ty Jerome added 15 of his own.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 31 points in the loss for the Thunder, who had a 15-game winning streak snapped with the loss. At 30–6, the Thunder still boast the second-best record in the NBA.

With the win, the Cavaliers are now 19–1 at home and 11–0 against the Western Conference, which will certainly be something to monitor in the second half of the season.

NBA fans loved Wednesday's marquee matchup. Here are some of the best reactions from a competitive weeknight tilt:

the entire nation finally getting a chance to watch this Cavs wagon pic.twitter.com/cEdN4vGnEV

— McNeil (@Reflog_18) January 9, 2025

Hell of a game. Mobley/Allen was the difference all game.

Allen: 25/12/6/3/1

Mobley: 21/10/7/1/1

The Cavs are way different from past editions of this core. Largely, Mobley is on another level. Pure dominance tonight.

Cleveland is a major title contender.

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) January 9, 2025

This Cleveland Cavaliers team is the roster and organization that Kenny Atkinson always deserved an opportunity to lead as a head coach.

Happy to see Kenny show what he can with a contender — the Cavs, presently, are the best team in the league.

— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) January 9, 2025

Cavs had 6 players who averaged double-digit scoring on the season coming into this game, 7 players finish with double-digit scoring in the biggest game of the season tonight.

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 9, 2025

On the biggest possession of the game (Cavs up by three with 1:24 to play), Kenny Atkinson put the ball in Evan Mobley’s hands and asked him to get a bucket

Mobley responded with a confident drive to extend the lead. This is the leap we’ve been waiting for

— Tony Pesta (@Tony_Pesta) January 9, 2025

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