Yesterday's game between Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder didn't feel like a normal game from the middle of the regular season. It had an air of playoff or even final, because it pitted the two undisputed leaders of the season. The locals, Cleveland, won 129-122, and extended their track record of 32 wins and 4 losses, leaders in the East Conference. Locally, they've only lost one match, and won 19.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Thunder, despite adding another lost, are also the leaders of the West Conference: 30 victories and 6 defeats. According to NBA records, this was the first NBA game in history to feature a team on a on a 15-game winning streak (Oklahoma) and a team on a 10-game winning streak (the Cavs). Earlier the season, Cavs also had their own 15-game winning streak, broken by last year champions Boston Celtics.
This was also the third time in league history that teams with a winning percentage of .850 or better will meet this late into a season. The close result, 129-122, also speaks to the quality of both teams: both teams exchanged positions in the scoreboard 30 times, with Thunder leading after the first quarter, 25-32.
In the end, with the shots of Jarrett Allen (25 points), Evan Mobley (21 points) and Darius Garland (18), making up for Donovan Mitchell bad night (11 points), the Cleveland Cavaliers stood out and extended their winning streak to 11. We'll see how long it lasts this time...