Feb. 22, 2026, 5:11 p.m. CT
OKLAHOMA CITY — Avoiding Sam Merrill’s attempt to play wolf, Isaiah Hartenstein passes it out to Isaiah Joe. With a man advantage, the seven-footer cut to the basket without any stoppages. He flew off the floor and posterized Jarrett Allen to pen an exclamation point.
The Oklahoma City Thunder had one of their most impressive games of the season with a 121-113 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
No Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams had most folks pencil this in as a scheduled loss. The Thunder were home underdogs for the first time in forever. Made sense, too. The Cavaliers have been red-hot since James Harden joined Donovan Mitchell.
Early on, the Thunder showed they can still show up with the league’s best despite a skeleton crew. The start of this game resembles OKC’s usual second-half run to put games away. Those have become rarer with each additional injury. They scored the first nine points of the game.
Forcing a turnover on every other possession, the Thunder got running. Even without a true go-to scorer, they generated offense in transition. Eventually, the scoreboard conjured up some uncanny numbers. At one point, OKC had a 30-8 lead.
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Opening up a 23-point lead in just over seven minutes into the game gives you an elephant-sized margin for error. The Thunder had a 40-25 lead after the first quarter. Considering the circumstances, this has gotta rival as OKC’s best start to a game.
Alas, the second quarter showed the Cavaliers weren’t going to trail wire-to-wire. They eventually settled down on offense. The ball security was tightened. Meanwhile, the Thunder began to cough up possessions. When that didn’t happen, they had to really work for a quality look.
The Thunder crashed back down to Earth with just 24 points in the second frame. They entered halftime with a 64-55 lead. Isaiah Joe was once again on another heater with 14 points. Before the game started, you’d easily take a nine-point lead at the break. But considering how the opening moments played out, a little disappointing to see OKC only be up by single-digit points.
It didn’t take long for the Cavaliers to have everything back to square one. They started the second half on a 12-3 run. Mitchell’s banked layup tied things up at 67 points, not even three minutes into the third quarter. Just like that, OKC’s 23-point lead evaporated into smoke.
Welp. Let’s see how the Thunder can handle a close game with the revitalized Cavaliers. They had 25 points in the third frame. A slight 89-86 lead had most folks anxious to see how the short-handed squad would handle high-stress minutes without a traditional scorer.
As the final frame played out, the Thunder created a little bit of breathing room. Cason Wallace’s 3-pointer made it a 102-95 lead with eight minutes to go. Hartenstein’s back-to-back floaters pushed OKC’s lead to 106-98 soon afterward. Finally, some elbow space.
The Thunder kept things there the rest of the way. When Merrill hit a big-time outside jumper, Wallace immediately answered. They did a great job at stiff-arming the Cavaliers on the scoreboard. Allen’s push-shot cut it to a six-point game, but Joe knocked down another 3-pointer in the next possession.
Harden’s 3-pointer had OKC’s lead down to 118-113 with a minute left, but the Thunder did a great job at playing the free-throw game. That turned out to be Cleveland’s last bucket. The Thunder had 32 points in the final frame to ensure a hot start didn’t go to waste.
The Thunder shot 49% from the field and went 21-of-41 (51.2%) from 3. They shot 16-of-25 on free throws. They had 32 assists on 42 baskets. Seven Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Chet Holmgren had a monstrous 17-point and 15- rebound double-double. Joe continued his hot stretch with 22 points. Wallace did it on both ends with 20 points and 10 assists. Hartenstein had 13 points and seven rebounds. Lu Dort scored 12 points. Jared McCain and Jaylin Williams each tallied 10 points off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers shot 48% from the field and went 13-of-39 (33.3%) from 3. They shot 14-of-19 on free throws. They had 28 assists on 43 baskets. Six Cavaliers players scored double-digit points.
Mitchell was held to 20 points and five assists. Harden had a quiet 20 points and nine assists. Merrill dropped 20 points off the bench. Evan Mobley had 15 points. Allen put up 11 points and 13 rebounds. Dennis Schroder tallied 11 points and seven assists.
Can’t get over-emphasized loud enough just how gargantuan this win was for the Thunder. With the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs licking their lips to usurp them in the standings, the C squad punched Cleveland just hard enough to steal a win over one of the NBA’s hottest teams since it added Harden and others.
The middle might’ve been ugly, but the Thunder had a strong start and finish to ensure they came away with the Herculean win. All five starters plus more stepped up. Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence continues to cloud over the team, but they’re buying him time with wins like these. As coach-speak as it is, this was a program win where OKC flexed its depth.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
Chet Holmgren: B-plus
In a brainfreeze moment, Nae’Qwan Tomlin went right at Holmgren with the baseline drive. Almost in disgust at the attempt, the All-Star swatted it away. Despite the humiliating mistake, the Cleveland role player double-downed on his mistake with a tomahawk attempt that was loudly rejected.
Holmgren finished with 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting, 15 rebounds and four assists. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 6-of-9 on free throws. He also had three blocks and one steal.
Circling this cross-conference matchup, Holmgren once again bullied Mobley on both ends of the floor. He roamed the paint and helped the Thunder get off to an unreal start. When the Cavaliers didn’t turn it over, they failed to generate any good looks. His rim protection this game was about as sharp as it’s been in a minute, which is saying something.
Usually a weakness, Holmgren stepped up on the boards. He grabbed double-digit rebounds against Cleveland’s towering Mobley-Allen frontcourt. That’s never a given. The Thunder kept up in that department with the Cavaliers, which is a surprising result.
On the other end, Holmgren picked his spots. He had nine points in the first half as the Thunder quickly built up a double-digit lead. While he hasn’t stepped up as a bonafide scorer in Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence, he’s been able to play within the flow of the offense and create a little more without a table-setter.
Can’t ask for much more out of Holmgren. He’s figured out how to help the hospital iteration of this group to win his minutes. It might not make a ‘House of Highlights’ reel and bang on social media, but the seven-footer is the textbook litmus test of how someone can affect basketball in other ways.
Cason Wallace: A-plus
Glueing himself to Harden at full-court, Wallace refused to allow a sly shove throw him off. He anticipated Allen’s pass back to Cleveland’s newest toy. He calmly intercepted the ball and went with the double-pump throwdown dunk to get the OKC crowd going.
Wallace finished with 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting, 10 assists and four rebounds. He shot 4-of-8 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had three steals.
No longer sporting floaties, Wallace has swum in his sink-or-swim moment. Injuries have forced the ball to be placed in his hands a lot more often than when Gilgeous-Alexander played. Turns out, some folks learn on the job. He had his best pure point-guard game against the Cavaliers. The 22-year-old showed he can be more than just a catch-and-shoot guy.
With a vacuum of possessions up for grabs, Wallace was one of OKC’s two 20-point scorers. He sliced through Cleveland’s offense to get to the rim stress-free. The on-ball confidence oozed over to his outside jumper. He had eight points in the fourth quarter to help close out a high-leverage game.
Asked to run OKC’s offense, Wallace sprayed the ball everywhere. He found Holmgren and Hartenstein for a couple of dunks. He dashed the ball out to the perimeter as several Thunder role players benefited from his kick-out passes to them in the perimeter.
Just unreal playmaking. Wallace won’t suddenly turn into Steve Nash, but his ability to keep the offense flowing popped off the screen. Talk about growth. It would’ve been laughable to think he’d be able to dissect an NBA defense just a month ago. Amazing how player development can go.
Oh, and Wallace locked down Harden. Don’t forget that part. He matched minute-for-minute with the future Hall-of-Famer. Held to just 20 points, the Cavaliers’ momentum since he joined was stopped. The Thunder voted for him to take on the 36-year-old. The democratic system paid off.
Just an overall complete game from Wallace. He played at a high level on both sides. Think we’re going to look back at this stretch of sans-Gilgeous-Alexander as when he figured things out on the offensive end. It could pay dividends down the road in the NBA playoffs.
Isaiah Joe: A-plus
Quickly relocating to the left-wing spot, Joe caught Wallace’s pass on a second-chance look. He quickly knocked down the outside jumper to add to OKC’s lead in crunch time. The important bucket was the final of his barrage of points.
Joe finished with 22 points on 6-of-13 shooting, three assists and two rebounds. He shot 6-of-11 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. He also had five steals.
The heater continues. Joe has played arguably his best stretch of basketball since the Thunder were down Gilgeous-Alexander. Of all the OKC role players, he’s the one who has scaled up the most to turn into a double-digit scorer. To the point that you’re seeing him pulling up from Curry-range. That’s how much he’s feeling himself.
To put the Cavaliers swiftly behind 20-plus points, Joe had 11 points in the first half. They learned just how dangerous things can get when you give the Thunder a transition opportunity with the 26-year-old as the trailer. When that didn’t happen, he nonstopped move off-ball.
We all know Joe is known as a gunner. But he’s made subtle improvements on the other end. He had five steals in the first quarter alone. Read that again. That was easily a career-best. Being on the same team as some of the league’s best intercepters has helped him sharpen his passing lane gambles.
It’s not just smarter gambles, either. Joe has played better pound-for-pound defense. Matched up on Mobley in the post, he held his own despite the size disadvantage. The Thunder’s growing confidence in his ability to play a well-rounded game has been proven with his increased workload and receiving the starting nod.
The sample size continues to grow. The Thunder are believers that obstacles could be flipped into opportunities. You can roll your eyes at that glass-half-full mindset, but it’s delivered one of Joe’s best stretches. He’s turned into a must-play guy.
Isaiah Hartenstein: A
Completely left open inside the paint, Hartenstein caught Holmgren’s pass for the big-to-big alley-oop. In this matchup of star-studded frontcourts, the Thunder bested the Cavaliers. The 27-year-old filled in whatever OKC needed at any juncture of the game.
Hartenstein finished with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists. He shot 1-of-4 on free throws.
Still getting over a second soleus strain, Hartenstein has learned how to help the Thunder get wins under a minute restriction. It’s not at the All-Star-esque level he was at at the start of the season, but you’re seeing the seven-footer slowly brush off any cobwebs he had.
In a close fourth quarter, Hartenstein had nine points to help the Thunder close things out. His scoring has been mostly sidelined since he returned, but he amped it up with his patented floater. Playing with confidence, he even hard-cut to the basket for the dagger dunk.
The Thunder have duct-taped their offense. Without Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, it’s been mostly a meritocracy. Everybody has had a chance to hunt their shot attempts. Hartenstein’s DHO appetizer has morphed into the main course until help eventually arrives.
The Thunder smartly managed his workload. They put Williams in to start the second half to conserve his minutes for the fourth quarter. The preemptive move paid off as he helped deliver this resume-strengthening win with a strong final shift.
Lu Dort: B
Ripping the ball away from Allen’s offensive rebound, Dort added to OKC’s turnover machine. The 26-year-old made it five-for-five as the Thunder starters had one of their most complete two-way games. Matched up on Mitchell, he blanketed Cleveland’s superstar once again.
Dort finished with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, three rebounds and two assists. He shot 2-of-6 from 3 and went 0-of-2 on free throws. He also had two steals.
More scoring possessions up for grabs meant Dort had a greener light. He’s the last guy you need to worry about getting timid. In a throwback game, he made up for his meh perimeter game by finishing around the rim and knocking down a rare mid-range jumper.
The other end of the floor is why Dort was mentioned here. Once again, he locked down Mitchell. He had 20 points on 19 shot attempts. Not exactly the type of numbers he’s produced to be in the backend of the MVP conversation. He stayed with him the entire game. No amount of screens could separate the two.
While Dort can be a frustrating offensive player at times, there’s no debating how important he is against Mitchell and Harden. He’s had historic success on both high-volume scorers. With both now sharing the same backcourt, the Thunder went with the right decision to put him on Cleveland’s best player.
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