SGA Drops 43, OKC Survives Cleveland's Fourth-Quarter Scare
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up 43 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block as Oklahoma City edged Cleveland 117-112. The game's decisive moment came with 32.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter, when SGA drained a 24-foot step-back three that swung Cleveland's win probability from 50% all the way down to 26%.
The first quarter told the story of a game that refused to settle. Cleveland jumped out early — Evan Mobley's driving layup off a James Harden dish made it 2-0, and Harden himself got into a rhythm with back-to-back floating jumpers to push the Cavaliers to a 9-5 lead. OKC answered through Kenrich Williams, who knocked down two Gilgeous-Alexander-assisted three-pointers in the span of 75 seconds to flip the lead to 19-17. The quarter ended with Cleveland on top 30-26 after Tyrese Proctor buried a 30-footer at the buzzer — a sign that neither team was going to make this easy.
The second quarter is where Ajay Mitchell announced himself. With Cleveland clinging to a one-point lead, Mitchell went on a personal 12-2 run — a two-point shot, a free throw pair, a fade-away, and a layup — to stretch OKC's lead to 41-34 by the 6:28 mark. Mitchell finished with 20 points and 5 rebounds, and his second-quarter takeover looks like the stretch that gave OKC the cushion they'd need later. Jared McCain chipped in a layup and a two-point shot during that same run to keep the Thunder's reserves humming while Cleveland's bench struggled to respond.
Cleveland didn't fold. Donovan Mitchell finished with 17 points and 11 assists, orchestrating enough offense to keep the Cavaliers within striking distance deep into the fourth. Evan Mobley added 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks, and Jarrett Allen contributed 14 points and 6 boards — Cleveland's frontcourt gave OKC everything it could handle. But with the game tied at 50-50 in win probability, Gilgeous-Alexander stepped back from 24 feet and buried the shot that broke Cleveland's back, swinging the home team's win probability from 50% to 26% in a single possession. That's the kind of shot that ends debates. OKC held on from there, 117-112. Brooks Barnhizer, Tristan Enaruna, and Riley Minix were all listed as DNPs by coach's decision for Cleveland. The story of the night, without question, was SGA — 43 points on a night when Cleveland threw every body it had at him, and it still wasn't enough.