The competitive tension was noticeable on the field. This Wednesday night’s duel in Cleveland was much more than a mid-game of the NBA regular season. The two most in-form teams in the championship faced each other, the leaders of the two conferences. It was also at stake to prolong a winning streak, whether that of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who had 15 consecutive victories in the league, or that of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had won their last 10 games. The locals got away with it even though their star, Donovan Mitchell, had a bad night. Led by Darius Garland and with a refined attacking game, they won 129-122 in a duel that was not decided until the last quarter.
It had been 30 years since two teams had accumulated double-digit winning streaks against each other, since in January 1995 Seattle and Utah played against each other, both after 10 consecutive wins. There was a party atmosphere playoffs, almost from the NBA finals.
The Cavaliers have turned their court into a fortress. The team coached by Kenny Atkinson, with dual American and Spanish nationality, has won 19 of the 20 games played there this season. Furthermore, in its triumphant career, the leader of the Eastern Conference and the league as a whole has won on the 11 occasions in which it has faced Western teams this season, both at home and away.
With their victory this Wednesday, the Cavaliers extend their lead as the best team of the season, with 32 wins and 4 losses. Only four times in the entire history of the NBA has a team arrived with a better balance than that at this point in the league. The last one was in the 2015-2016 season, by the Golden State Warriors, and the others, in the last century, achieved by the Lakers, the Sixers and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
Those from Cleveland had a spectacular start to the season, with 15 wins in the first 15 games, until losing against the Boston Celtics, so their victory has also prevented the Thunder from surpassing their own record from that time. The Celtics, current champions, are second in the Eastern Conference, but they already have 10 losses in 37 games.
Oklahoma City Thunder, for its part, sees the best streak in its history broken. They lost the NBA Cup final against the Milwaukee Bucks, but that game is the only one in that tournament that does not simultaneously count for the regular league. The 31 points of the always outstanding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were not enough this time. Despite the defeat, the team continues to comfortably lead the Western Conference, with 30 wins and six losses. The regular season positions define the crossings of the playoffs, the moment of truth in the NBA.
The Cavaliers overcame a poor night from Donovan Mitchell, who scored just 11 points in a forgettable three-for-16 field goal series. The rest of the team was accurate. Jarrett Allen scored 25 points, Evan Mobley scored 21, Darius Garland scored 18 and Max Strus and Ty Jerome, both coming off the bench, added 17 and 15, respectively.
The Thunder never lost face of the game. In fact, they took the lead in the first half (25-32) in a duel so close that there were thirty leader exchanges on the scoreboard. The final quarter was reached with a local advantage of a single point, 103-102, with both teams in triple digits after the scoring orgy of the third quarter (41-43). The attacks prevailed over the defenses.
It was the rectification of a referee error, after a claim by the Cavaliers, with just over a minute left and with a two-man advantage for Cleveland, which gave the winners the opportunity to stand out. A three-pointer by Mobley put a five-point difference on the scoreboard and after the visitors failed in their attack and received one last basket, the stopwatch no longer forgave them.
