CLEVELAND Cavaliers leaned on a huge finishing run to defeat Oklahoma City Thunder, 129-122, in a battle among 2024-25 NBA Regular Season top teams on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
From a slim 114-112 lead with over four minutes left, the Cavaliers got four straight points from Ty Jerome and a three-pointer from Donovan Mitchell to establish a 121-114 lead.
The Thunder kept the match close for the last time at 122-124, but the Cavaliers answered with a split free throw from Jarrett Allen and back-to-back inside hits from Evan Mobley and Darius Garland to seal the win.
Allen led the way with 25 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and three steals, while Mobley chipped in 21 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists as the Cavaliers improved to a 32-4 record, No. 1 in the Eastern Conference.
Garland contributed 18 markers, Max Strus and Jerome finished with 17 and 15 points, respectively, while Mitchell and Deon Wade ended with 11 apiece for the Cavaliers, which kept its unbeaten record against Western Conference-based teams.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander top-scored with 31 points, Jalen Williams added 25 markers, while Isaiah Hartenstein, Carson Wallace, and Aaron Wiggins ended with 18, 15, and 11, respectively, for the Thunder (30-6), which saw its 15-game winning run snapped.
Meanwhile, Detroit Pistons (19-18) maintained its unbeaten record in 2025 with a dominant 113-98 victory against a shorthanded Brooklyn Nets (13-24) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Malik Beasley led the way for the Pistons with 23 points, including four three-point conversions, to go with five assists, two rebounds, and two steals as they moved up to in the standings.
Simone Fontecchio added 17 markers, Marcus Sasser finished with 15 points, while Cade Cunningham and Tim Hardaway Jr.had 13 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Pistons.
Noah Clowney tallied 29 markers to lead the Nets, Nicholas Claxton added 14 markers, while Tosan Evbuomwan, Tyrese Martin, Ziarie Williams, and Keon Johnson ended with 13, 12, 11, and 10, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
CLEVELAND 129 — Allen 25, Mobley 21, Garland 18, Strus 17, Jerome 15, Wade 11, Mitchell 11, LeVert 8, Niang 3, Okoro 0.
OKLAHOMA CITY 122 — Gilgeous-Alexander 31, Jal. Williams 25, Hartenstein 18, Wallace 15, Wiggins 11, Joe 8, Dort 7, K. Williams 4, Jay. Williams 3.
Quarterscores: 25-32, 62-59, 103-102, 129-122.
