Jan. 19, 2026, 5:48 p.m. CT
Chasing De’Andre Hunter down, Chet Holmgren’s extra effort paid off. The seven-footer flew off the floor and forced the missed driving layup. Getting back on the other end, Ajay Mitchell fed him the ball on the trailing outside jumper he swished in. The defense-to-offense sequence summed up what happened.
The Oklahoma City Thunder tore apart the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 136-104 win. Keeping it mostly a double-digit lead, they were up by as many as 32 points. The reigning NBA champion took advantage of the extra attention brought by playing on MLK Day.
Even without Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein, the Thunder offense hummed along from the start. Going smaller with several playmakers, buckets came in a flurry. Jaylin Williams found Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a cutting layup. Everything was in synch.
The Thunder had a 32-27 lead after the first quarter. The momentum continued. Holmgren completely shattered Donovan Mitchell’s poster attempt. He likely hoped that would energize the Cleveland crowd. Instead, he provided the 23-year-old another clip for his Defensive Player of the Year case.
Eventually, the Thunder started to build space on the scoreboard. Lu Dort was feeling himself. He swished in a turnaround mid-range jumper. Isaiah Joe helped OKC get into a rhythm from the outside. They finished the first half strong with a 16-6 run. They tallied 34 points in the second frame and entered halftime with a 66-51 lead.
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Alas, a dominant first half came with a price. Both Williams and Alex Caruso were ruled out of the second half with injuries. A thin rotation got thinner. Turns out, it didn’t matter that they had fewer bodies suited up. Kenrich Williams seamlessly stepped up. He had a transition layup to push OKC’s lead to 74-54 with eight minutes left in the third frame.
Before this became lopsided, the Cavaliers had one last run in them. They went on a 13-2 run. Mostly fueled by offensive rebounds and second-chance looks. They eventually got it within single-digit points. Dort and Mitchell got into it with a double technical foul.
The Thunder had 25 points in the third quarter, but only had a 91-79 lead. The window wasn’t completely shut off for the Cavaliers. They have the offensive firepower to make things interesting. Instead, Holmgren completely took over the opening minutes of the fourth frame to put this one away.
Holmgren made a couple of outside jumpers and a driving dunk. The Thunder opened the final frame on a 12-3 run. Just like that, they had a 104-85 lead with a little under nine minutes to go. They kept at that distance for the rest of the way. Cleveland quietly quit.
After both sides cleared their benches, the Thunder added salt to the wound. To show how ridiculous their outside shooting was, the third-string players scored 18 straight points to balloon their lead. Almost everybody made at least one 3-pointer. They scored an unreal 45 points in the final frame and led by as many as 32 points.
The Thunder shot 56% from the field and went 23-of-47 (48.9%) from 3. They shot 13-of-20 on free throws. They had 32 assists on 50 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an efficient 30 points. Holmgren had an unreal 28 points and eight rebounds. Dort scored 18 points with five outside makes. Joe had 16 points and five rebounds. Aaron Wiggins finished with 12 points, six rebounds and five steals.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers shot 37% from the field and went 8-of-35 (22.9%) from 3. They shot 28-of-35 on free throws. They had 20 assists on 34 baskets. Five Cavaliers players scored double-digit points.
Mitchell was limited to 19 points on 5-of-18 shooting. Evan Mobley had a quiet 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jarrett Allen had 16 points and nine rebounds. Jaylon Tyson tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds. Hunter finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Even with several players out, the Thunder remain a win machine. You know what Gilgeous-Alexander will bring on a night-to-night basis, but this version of Holmgren would be welcomed every game. Also helps to see OKC finally get some good outside shooting performances. Felt like they were due.
The Thunder have made this type of outing normal. They completely dominated the Cavaliers on both sides of the floor. A team that many felt was finally coming around to playing better basketball. With the All-Star starters announced and reserves upcoming, this was a textbook example of why OKC should have two representatives at the weekend extravaganza.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Hovering at the weakside, Gilgeous-Alexander went vertical. Despite a serious size disadvantage, his textbook rim contest resulted in a block on a rolling Allen. He grabbed the ball midair before he went the entire way for a transition layup as he bumped Dean Wade off him. What a sequence.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting, three assists and one rebound. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 5-of-5 on free throws. He also had two blocks.
Dealing with a volume of injuries, Gilgeous-Alexander stepped up carry even more of the load. He made easy work of the Mobley-Allen frontcourt. None of Cleveland’s perimeter defenders could stay in front of the reigning MVP. Anytime he conjured a one-on-one look, he toyed with the Cavaliers’ role players.
Gilgeous-Alexander sliced his way through Cleveland’s defense. When he drove headfirst to the rim, he converted on all of his looks. The mid-range jumper was also on point. He didn’t need to break a sweat to get to his spots at the elbow and baseline to drill easy buckets in.
It was a hot start for Gilgeous-Alexander. He had 10 points in the first quarter to set the tone. He had another 10 points in the third quarter to build up a lead. The reigning MVP wasn’t asked to close things out, but he added onto their avalanche as they snowballed the Cavaliers.
While Mitchell has been nice for Cleveland, this was your latest reminder that there are levels to this. He might mostly put up 30-plus points with the occasional stinker sprinkled in, but that vocabulary is foreign in Gilgeous-Alexander’s workbank. As long as he suits up, you can bet he’ll drop 20 points at worst.
Chet Holmgren: A-plus
Receiving the ball at the corner, Holmgren licked his chops. Usually, you don’t see the 23-year-old pull out his isolation scoring. But seeing Nae’Qwan Tomlin in front of him was too juicy. A couple of jab steps created enough momentum for him to go baseline. He bumped him off his spot before slamming down the dunk. You could hear him yell on the broadcast in the aftermath.
Holmgren finished with 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting, eight rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-of-5 from 3 and went 2-of-5 on free throws. He also had two blocks.
For any indecisive All-Star voters, Holmgren put on a show for why he should get the first-time honor. He bullied his way to the basket for several of his buckets. Per usual, he had a busy night around the rim with plenty of easy dunks. He also demonstrated some of his on-ball creation with a couple of fadeaway jumpers.
Even when you consider that Holmgren is a center, his efficiency pops out. You rarely see him have a below-efficient scoring night. That’s helped OKC’s secondary actions not fully depend on Gilgeous-Alexander’s Kobe-esque shot-making to bail them out. There’s a reason why the Thunder went on runs when the reigning MVP was off the floor.
With the game still semi-close, Holmgren put it away at the start of the fourth quarter. Two straight catch-and-shoot 3-pointers that barely grazed the net in the opening moments got him into a groove. His driving dunk through Tomlin had him oozing confidence. He had 11 points in the final frame make this a comedy.
On the other end, you already know what Holmgren brings to the table. Some of the best rim protection in the league. Mitchell tried to baptize him with a poster attempt, but instead had water splashed in his face with a nasty rejection. He also dominated Cleveland’s other All-Star players in Mobley and Allen.
It’s been a career season for Holmgren. Whenever he turns into an aggressive scorer, you see positive results. The Thunder would welcome this type of outing every game if they could. Despite an entire frontcourt decimated by injuries, he’s been the one constant to keep the defense the best in the league.
Lu Dort: A-plus
Fighting over a screen, Dort committed a foul on Mitchell that was worth it. You saw a glimpse of frustration from Cleveland’s superstar. He jettisoned the ball at the OKC starter before the latter threw it right back in an impromptu game of hot potato. The moment resulted in double technical fouls, but highlighted how awesome a defensive job he had.
Dort finished with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting, five rebounds and three assists. He shot 5-of-6 from 3 and went 1-of-2 on free throws. He also had one steal.
Amid a struggling season, this was Dort’s best outing on both sides of the floor. The outside shot has betrayed him for most of the year, but he added to one of OKC’s best games from beyond the arc. The catch-and-shoot looks rainbowed in. He made them from all over the perimeter. They needed his scoring to go up with the number of absences.
On the other end, Dort completely locked down Mitchell. The 30-point scorer was mostly invisible until the game was out of hand. Uncomfortability morphed into frustration. The one-on-one defense returned to its peak form as Cleveland couldn’t even get to 40% from the field and had poor ball security.
A lot has been made about Dort’s season. To the point that some wonder about his long-term future in OKC. But not today. For at least one game, he was superb on both sides of the floor. Maybe this could get the ball rolling as the Thunder deal with injuries.
Isaiah Joe: A
Backpedaling to the right corner, Joe waved his hand up. It caught Caruso’s attention as he flung the ball in his direction. Despite a couple of Cleveland defenders closing out, the 26-year-old quickly knocked down another outside jumper in a myriad of them.
Joe finished with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, five rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-of-7 from 3. He also had one steal.
Considering how red-hot the Thunder were from the outside, it shouldn’t surprise anybody that Joe joined in on the fun. He’s a great telltale sign of how smooth OKC’s offense looks. If he’s making several looks from deep, it’s a well-oiled machine. Defenses have to decide to either put their full attention on Gilgeous-Alexander or their outside shooters. Either way, it’s a bad bet.
The Thunder had a group effort approach. That’s what’s made them into a win machine over the years. When a couple of players are out, the bench has no problem stepping up. Joe has been part of those efforts over the years as their most natural outside gunner.
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