Can Cleveland & Oklahoma Sustain Its Excellence? 

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night in Cleveland, 129-122, in a game in which many fans said “yes, this is what I want to see all the time.” In all likelihood, it was the NBA’s regular season game of the year for 2024-25.

Both teams had two days off leading up to the Wednesday clash and it turned out to be excellent basketball. Oklahoma jumped out to a 32-25 lead after one period, but the Cavaliers took back the lead at halftime with a 37-27 advantage in the second quarter. That was a good omen for Cleveland because they are now 27-1 when leading at halftime so far this season.

(Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Cavs also showed they can win a big game without perennial all-star Donovan Mitchell having a big game individually. Spyda finished with 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting.

So what does Cleveland’s start, streaks and won-loss record mean? Let’s take a dive

1. By winning on Thursday over Toronto, Cleveland now is on a 12-game winning streak. The victory by the Cavs also ended the Thunder’s 15-game winning streak.
2. It was the first time in NBA history a team with a 15-game winning streak played another with a 10-game winning streak. Keep in mind, Cleveland had a 15-game winning streak of its own earlier in the season. It was only the third time in NBA history two teams met with a winning streak of 10 games or longer. None of those four teams had winning streaks longer than 11 games.
3. At this point of the season and even with OKC’s loss, both teams are still on pace to win 70 games this season. Only two teams in NBA history have won 70 games, the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (73-9) and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (72-10). Both made the NBA Finals and Chicago won the NBA Title.
4. This is the second time in NBA history two teams have started 30-5 or better, in the same season. In 1971-72, the Lakers did it and so did the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks (30-5). The Bucks, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, finished 63-19 and lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Lakers (Milwaukee was in the Western Conference then).
5. Through 36 games, the Cavaliers were 32-4 and OKC is 30-6. (Cleveland defeated Toronto on Thursday evening to move to 33-4). There have been four teams with a better record than Cleveland through 36 games. The 2015-16 Warriors were 34-2 and the 1995-96 Bulls were 33-3. The other two teams that went 33-3 both won the NBA title: the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are the team that put together a NBA record 33-game winning streak. There has only been four other winning streaks longer than 24 games in NBA history and the 2015-16 Warriors put together two of them (24, 28).
6. There is a big difference historically between winning 67 and 68 games, and both Cleveland and Oklahoma City are on pace to surpass that threshold. Of the six teams to win 68 or more games, only two did not go on to win the NBA title. The previously mentioned Warriors and the 1972-73 Boston Celtics. That Celtics team came after the retirement of Bill Russell and before it won two titles in three seasons and is probably the most forgotten of the teams with great regular seasons. That team lost in the Eastern Conference Finals after the Knicks took a 3-1 series lead then beat Boston on the road in Game 7, 94-78. Hall of Famer Walt Frazier scored 25 in the deciding game and averaged 26.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 6.3 apg for the series.
7. Winning 67 games in when things get tricky for NBA teams. Of the seven teams that have won 67 games, five did win titles, but there are two outliers. The 2006-07 Mavericks lost in the first round to the Golden State Warriors and the 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the last playoff appearance for Tim Duncan.
8. Two teams that won 67 games also went 40-1 at home: The 1985-86 Boston Celtics and the 2015-16 Spurs. The Celtics lost in Dec. 1985 to Portland and the Spurs lost to the defending NBA champ Warriors in April 2016. This current Cavs team lost its only home game so far on Nov. 27 vs. Atlanta and lost to Atlanta on the road the next game as part of its two-game losing streak of the season.

*Through the halfway point of a season (41 games), it’s basically the same crop of above-mentioned teams that have the best records all-time. Seven teams have started its season 36-5 or better. Only the 2015-16 Warriors (37-4) and the 2005-06 Detroit Pistons (36-5), did not win the NBA Title. The Pistons lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat. The 1991-92 Chicago Bulls started 36-5, went 67-15 and won the NBA Title.

Conclusion

The raw numbers and historical data favor both teams winning 67 or more games and having a deep playoff run, especially the Cleveland Cavaliers. The only other time in NBA history when two teams were this good to start the same season they played in the same conference. The ’72 Lakers, who some still feel is the greatest team of all-time, beat the defending champion Bucks in the conference finals. The game played on Jan. 8 might have been a NBA Finals preview, as it had 30 lead changes. It definitely had that type of feel.

• Center Jarrett Allen finished with 25 points for the Cavs and budding star Evan Mobley had 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, as the Cavs displayed their excellent depth.

Based on the numbers, it’s doubtful the Cavs and Thunder fall off. After all, Cleveland leads the league in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and is second in the league in points per game. They might cool off from 3-point range and might not get to 70 wins, but barring a major injury the Cavs will get to 67 and are showing they are for real. At this point in the season, a collapse is highly unlikely. Oklahoma is in a great spot too, because defense usually doesn’t have cold streaks like an offensive-oriented team can. OKC leads the league in field goal percentage defense, 3-point percentage defense and is No. 1 in fewest points per game allowed.

The numbers add up to these two teams likely meeting in the NBA Finals. They are not just on some hot streak at this point in the season. They are for real. If they get bumped off prior to the NBA Finals, it will be memorable because the numbers point to a high probability of either club holding up the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June.