Cavaliers blown out at home by reigning champion Oklahoma City

CLEVELAND — The Oklahoma City Thunder showed how far the Cavaliers are from being a championship team. The Thunder (36-8) came into Cleveland on Martin Luther King Day and destroyed the Cavs 136-104 before a national-television audience at Rocket Arena. "That was total domination," Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. "I'll call it like I see it. (They beat us in) every phase of the game." The Cavs turned the ball over 21 times and shot just .374 from the field and .229 from the 3-point line against the league's best defensive unit. They were also outscored 69-24 from the 3-point line. Shooting guard Donovan Mitchell was shunned as a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Star team in balloting announced before the game. Then he went out and had one of his worst games of the season. Mitchell finished with 19 points, 10 in the fourth quarter, but shot just 5-of-18 from the field and 1-of-9 from the 3-point line. He credited the defense of Oklahoma City guard Luguentz Dort, who makes a habit of shutting him down. "He's just physical," Mitchell said. "He makes it tough on me. Credit to him." Atkinson said everything shouldn't be on Mitchell's shoulders. "We need other guys to step up and make plays," he said. "We have to find a way to help him." The Cavs (24-20) were playing without point guard Darius Garland (toe) and shooting guard Sam Merrill (hand). They couldn't withstand an off night by Mitchell, especially against the top team in the league. "He'll come back stronger than ever," Mitchell said of Garland. Oklahoma City buried 10 3-pointers in the fourth quarter when it outscored Cleveland 45-25 and turned the game into a laugher. "They capitalize on every mistake you make," Cavs center Jarrett Allen said. "They scored 23 points off our turnovers. That's the game right there." Thunder shooting guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning Most Valuable Player in the NBA, was sensational with a game-high 30 points. He gets almost all his points on drives to the basket or via his mid-range game. Atkinson said the Cavs' defense couldn't concentrate solely on stopping Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder have several other weapons, even though they were missing starters Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylen Williams. "Shai is an unselfish superstar," he said. "He's one of the hardest (players to defend) in the league. You can't throw all your eggs in one basket." Oklahoma City center Chet Holmgren contributed 28 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Allen had 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for Cleveland, which won the battle of the boards, 54-38. Jaylon Tyson contributed 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Evan Mobley and De'Andre Hunter each added 16 points. Allen had a highlight-reel block of Jaylin Williams' dunk attempt in the first half. Williams ended up on his backside and didn't play in the second half. The Cleveland center said the greatest challenge facing OKC is "making shots." "Their defense is so good," he said. "They disrupted us." Mitchell, who will likely be added to the East All-Star team as a reserve, said he didn't hear about not being named a starter until after the game. "I expected that," he said. "The guys named have better records than us." Atkinson said this is one to forget. "These games happen in the NBA," he said. "We haven't had a lot of these. You almost have to flush it and move on. We'll bounce back in Charlotte (on Wednesday)." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.