3rd Quarter Report
Only one more quarter stands between the Cavaliers and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. Sitting on a score of 106-105, they have looked like the better team, but there’s still one more quarter to play.
The Cavaliers entered the matchup having won ten straight and they’re just one quarter away from another. Will they make it 11, or will the Thunder step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Current Records: Oklahoma City 30-5, Cleveland 31-4
How To Watch
- When: Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse — Cleveland, Ohio
- TV: ESPN
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $73.00
What to Know
The Thunder have enjoyed a five-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Thunder’s defense has only allowed 103 points per game this season, so the Cavaliers’ offense will have their work cut out for them.
The Thunder are headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week’s over/under low at 225, but even that wound up being too high. They rang in the new year with a 105-92 victory over the Celtics on Sunday. The win came about thanks to a strong surge starting at the 1:15 mark of the second quarter, when Oklahoma City was facing a 65-52 deficit.
It was another big night for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who dropped a double-double on 33 points and 11 rebounds. The matchup was his fifth in a row with at least 30 points.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 17.3 points) and they went ahead and made it ten on Sunday. They walked away with a 115-105 victory over Charlotte.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead the Cavaliers to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jarrett Allen, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 rebounds. What’s more, Allen also racked up five offensive rebounds, the most he’s had since back in November of 2024.
The Cavaliers were working as a unit and finished the game with 29 assists (they’re ranked fifth in assists per game overall). That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now racked up at least 25 assists in 14 consecutive contests.
Oklahoma City is on a roll lately: they’ve won 19 of their last 20 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 30-5 record this season. As for Cleveland, their win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 31-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: The Thunder haven’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 11.2 turnovers per game (they’re ranked first in turnovers per game overall). However, it’s not like the Cavaliers (currently ranked third) struggle in that department as they’ve been averaging only 12.3. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
The Thunder are hoping to beat the odds on Wednesday, as the experts think they’re headed for a loss. They might be worth a quick bet since they’ve covered the spread the last five times they’ve played.
Odds
Cleveland is a slight 2.5-point favorite against Oklahoma City, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Cavaliers as a 2-point favorite.
The over/under is 229 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Oklahoma City has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Cleveland.
- Nov 08, 2023 – Oklahoma City 128 vs. Cleveland 120
- Oct 27, 2023 – Oklahoma City 108 vs. Cleveland 105
- Jan 27, 2023 – Oklahoma City 112 vs. Cleveland 100
- Dec 10, 2022 – Cleveland 110 vs. Oklahoma City 102
- Jan 22, 2022 – Cleveland 94 vs. Oklahoma City 87
- Jan 15, 2022 – Cleveland 107 vs. Oklahoma City 102
- Apr 08, 2021 – Cleveland 129 vs. Oklahoma City 102
- Feb 21, 2021 – Oklahoma City 117 vs. Cleveland 101
- Feb 05, 2020 – Oklahoma City 109 vs. Cleveland 103
- Jan 04, 2020 – Oklahoma City 121 vs. Cleveland 106
