Thunder even score, rout Cavs in battle of NBA's best teams - ESPN

OKLAHOMA CITY — The rematch between the NBA's top two heavyweights ended with an early knockout.

The final score of the Oklahoma City Thunder's 134-114 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night only hinted at how dominant the Thunder were in avenging a loss in the Jan. 8 thriller between the teams with the NBA's best records.

In the previous matchup, the Cavaliers pulled out a 129-122 win in a game that featured 30 lead changes and wasn't decided until the final minute. The Thunder put this game out of reach by halftime, when Oklahoma City had a 26-point lead, the largest deficit of the season for Cleveland.

The lead swelled to 42 points in the third quarter before the benches emptied.

«They imposed their will in every sense,» Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said after the Cavaliers dropped to 34-6, matching the Thunder's record. «We knew it was coming. We knew their force was coming. That's their identity. They imposed their identity. It was an avalanche, and we never responded.»

Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander singlehandedly outscored the Cavaliers by a 15-14 margin in the first quarter en route to finishing with 40 points in only 29 minutes. He became only the second player in NBA history to score 40 in fewer than 30 minutes, according to ESPN Research, going 17-of-26 from the floor and also dishing out eight assists.

«I was just playing basketball, the game I love,» Gilgeous-Alexander said, playing down the notion that the recent loss to the Cavaliers provided extra motivation. «I work hard. Try to give the game my all and see what it gives back to me.»

Oklahoma City's top-ranked defense gave very little to the league's most efficient offense, only eight days after Cleveland had the