Recap: Cavs 104, Thunder 100 (or, Outnumbered… Not Outrun)

The Cavs went into their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a familiar predicament, as they once again found themselves short on guards. Despite the rumors earlier in the week to the contrary, they still had no Kyrie Irving (though he might make his first appearance on Sunday). Also, after a brief two game return, they were without Iman Shumpert due to a groin injury. And, just to throw a little salt in the proverbial wound… they didn’t even have the services of Mo Williams (out with a sprained right thumb). But, the funny thing about this Cavs team is that the more that gets taken away… the harder the remaining troops seem to play… even against one of the better teams in the league. While it seemed that Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant would have been able to run the short-handed Cavs right out of their own building, it turned out the wine & gold had the Thunder right where they wanted them…

The “Run” Down

I’m not sure I’ve seen a game in recent memory see-saw quite as frequently and steeply as this one did. Instead of a more gradual give and take, this contest consisted of these two heavy-weights taking turns going on massive runs throughout.

After some threes dropped early for both teams (with J.R. & LBJ doing the honors for the Cavs, and Westbrook & Durant for the Thunder) they were neck-and-neck through the first half of quarter number one. Then the Thunder used an 8-0 run to jet ahead before the Cavs countered with an 11-4 run of their own with a three each from Delly and R.J., plus a tough and-1 from LeBron. Durant closed the scoring for the quarter (he had 14 of his 25 in the period), and the Cavs trailed by two, 28-26.

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The Thunder started rumbling in the second quarter with a 12-2 roll that began with their bench, and was punctuated with four quick points from Westbrook as he returned to the floor. The Cavs faced their largest deficit of the game (12 points), and it sure looked like they were flirting with certain disaster. Except, they weren’t. LeBron and two of his three healthy guards fueled an 18-0 run out, over and through OKC during the following five minute stretch, which featured some inspired defense that forced several Thunder turnovers, as well as three quick fouls on Westbrook. This gave the Cavs a six point lead, at least until OKC ripped off another 7-0 run to end the half. Cavs trailed by one at the break, 47-46.

The start of the second half was a continuation of the Thunder run to end the first. OKC used an 11-4 burst (18-4 going back to the final two minutes of the second), to push the advantage back to eight. The Cavs chipped away a little, but then Serge Ibaka finally found his shot (he had 12 points in the quarter) and drained a three to give the Thunder a double-digit lead. Around this time, Tristan Thompson started beasting on the glass for offensive boards (he had five in the quarter and 11 for the game), and the Cavs closed the quarter on a 16-6 run, holding the Thunder to just free throws for the final five minutes. TT also threw down a couple of Loaded Wombat lobs from Delly for good measure, and the Cavs trailed by four, 78-74.

Kevin Love quickly tied the game all by himself with a high degree of difficulty four point play to open the scoring in the final period.

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This well and truly opened the flood gates, as the Cavs went on a 16-2 binge (20-2 if you include the end of the third), with a flurry of run out dunks, alley-oops and triples from both R.J. and Jared Cunningham. The Cavs pushed their lead out to as much as 11 before Russell Westbrook went on a nine point spree to keep the Thunder within striking distance. A layup in traffic by LeBron and a key three from KLove, along with a few gritty stops, did enough to stem the onslaught, and both Durant and Westbrook missed on successive attempts to knot the game up from beyond the arc. LeBron iced the win with a free throw (intentionally missing the second to let time expire), and the Cavs outran the Thunder, 104-100.

The Evil

Running Hot. To be diplomatic about it… the officiating was, let’s say, uneven for much of this ballgame. LeBron took considerable contact through the first three quarters, but couldn’t seem to draw a foul. He consequently spent a lot of time arguing with the refs about the disparity. Until the fourth quarter, the Thunder made 24 trips to the line compared to just eight for the Cavs. Maybe the officials were just saving things up for the Cavs in the final period, however, as the and-ones started to flow with more regularity (including the KLove four point play and one pretty generous call for LeBron).

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Running Cold. Both Timo and Kevin Love had rough starts to this game. Neither was able to get the ball down low to score against the long arms of Stephen Adams, Ibaka and Durant, and they had a grand total of two rebounds between them in the first half (both were Kevin’s, as Moz got shut out for the game). With the two of them struggling to score or hit the glass early, it seemed like a fairly bad sign for the Cavs, given their shortage of guards. Though Moz didn’t really get going in this one (playing just 21 minutes, and giving way to TT in the second half), Love finally got going in the fourth, scoring seven of his 11 points (four on one play) with two key threes, three boards and one touchdown assist to LeBron (after which he got some dap from a courtside Johnny Manziel).

Running Amok. The Cavs allowed the Thunder to shoot 47% from the field, and let them push the ball for fast break points early. Due to the paucity of able bodies they had to throw in front of Russell Westbrook, however, this was to be at least a little expected. Durant and Westbrook are typically going to get theirs anyway, but the Cavs got lulled into leaving Serge Ibaka alone on the outside after he missed a few early long jumpers. Letting him go off in the third helped the Thunder push their advantage, and kept the game closer than it should have been.

Run Out Of Town. Not really sure why former Cav Dion Waiters got such a cold/rude reception from the crowd at the Q. He was booed from the moment he stepped on the court, which was puzzling since he wasn’t exactly a bad guy while here, or left of his own accord. In any event, it’s possible the hail of boos got to him, as he went just 1-7 from the field, and 0-3 from beyond the arc (including two on one forgettable possession).

Run Over. The scariest part of the night wasn’t the Cavs having to face Westbrook with only three healthy guards, but instead this moment late in the game when LeBron went careening into the front row to save a ball, and wound up accidentally wiping out a spectator (who turned out to be the wife of PGA pro, Jason Day).

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She would be taken off on a stretcher for precautionary measures, but later was reportedly okay and doing well. LBJ still took to Twitter to apologize and wish her well.

Ellie Day I hope you're doing okay! My apologies! Hope u guys come back to another game soon. Love LJ!

— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 18, 2015

The Genius

Runaway Train. It’s getting easy to run out of superlatives for LeBron James, especially on nights when he’s going against another NBA superstar (or two). He had his game face on and his game humming from the jump tonight, and finished just a rebound shy of a triple double. Give him a game high 33 points on 12-27 shooting, with a couple of early long bombs for good measure, nine boards and 11 dimes. He outshot Durant, and out-all-purposed Westbrook. He also yelled at Moz and TT after a missed rebound when the Cavs fell behind by 12 in the first half. Right afterwards, they went on the 18-0 run to race past the Thunder. He also somehow pulled off this pass…

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Running The Offense. Delly, sore back and all, wound up with a double double for the game with 11 points and 10 assists. He had to play 39 minutes with the lack of back court depth, but he distributed the ball beautifully for much of the night. He and TT caught fire in the second half in particular with a series of Loaded Wombats. It’s also clear that LeBron has put his complete trust in the Australian, giving him plenty of opportunities to bring the ball up and run the plays. Between Delly and LBJ, they had 21 of the team’s 29 assists. He didn’t have a terrific night shooting the ball, but still hit 50% of his threes.

Getting The Motor Running. After a slow start, something clicked for TT, and he became the $82M glass monster in the second half. Canadian Dynamite pulled down 15 boards, an astonishing 11 of which were of the offensive variety. He also tossed in 14 points on 7-10 shooting (most of which were on the receiving end of Delly lobs). When TT plays like this, it’s not only easy to see why he was worth his big contract, it also shows how deadly the Cavs can be with so many second chance opportunities in crunch time.

Still Running. Besides TT, the bench came up big in this game. Old man Jefferson continues to turn back the clock and look as spry as ever. He hit for 13 points on 5-9 from the field (3-6 on threes), and played some solid defense on the wing in his 32 minutes. Much Danger Ninja also overcame a rough start to chip in five points with a triple, a dunk and a steal in 13 minutes, while spelling Delly and R.J. on Westbrook a little. Overall, the Cavs’ bench outscored the Thunder’s 32-16.

We Run The Paint. Once again, the Cavs dominated inside the key, outscoring the Thunder 50-36 in the paint. This has become a steady trend for the wine & gold, as they’re doing a little less hoisting of threes, and a lot more work in the low post.

Parting Shot

Most games this side of the New Year don’t count for much, but this one felt a bit different. This was arguably the hottest team in the NBA, on a six-game winning streak where they hadn’t allowed an opponent to score 100 points on them in any of those contests, catching the Cavs short-handed personnel-wise. Yes, it was still on the Cavs’ home turf, and yes it was the second night of a back-to-back for OKC, but it was still impressive to see this team continually fight back and ultimately shut down the high-octane Thunder in the second and fourth quarters.

The Cavs have two more primer games against the Sixers (Sunday) and Knicks (Wednesday) before their marquee matchup of the season (so far) with the Warriors on Christmas Day. With a bit of good fortune, they very well could have their entire rotation back and healthy for that tilt… just in time to give Golden State their second loss of the season.