NBA

Winners and Losers: Cavs vs Thunder – Donovan Mitchell runs into his kryptonite

ballervisions 2026年1月20日

The Cleveland Cavaliers came into the game today as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat them 136-104. Let’s see who won and lost the game.

WINNER – Lu Dort

It’s the first time I’ve given a competitor a ‘winner’ this season. That’s not to say there haven’t been good performances from other teams throughout the season. There was. But Lu Dort’s defense of Donovan Mitchell couldn’t ignore it, since many seasons at this point.

Dort was created in the lab to protect Mitchell. He is one of the only backcourt players in the NBA with a similar build. Dort is a blocky, speedy player who can give Mitchell problems that no other linebacker in the league has been able to. He can beat Mitchell in his position, and he’s strong enough to stop Mitchell from getting past him.

Mitchell finished the game shooting 5-18. Last season, Mitchell shot 3-16 and 3-15 in his two games against the Thunder. That’s 11-49 (22%) in three games.

Of course not all that it’s because of Dort. OKC’s strength is its defense. But Dort is a big part of that, and he’s the best Mitchell-stopper in the NBA, if you ask me.

WINNER – Jarrett Allen Blocks

Highlights were few and far between today for the Cavs. But Jarrett Allen took home the two biggest plays of the day.

It started with what might be the best block of the Cavaliers season. Jaylen Williams was roaring to the lane, ready to throw down a thunderous dunk, before Allen met him at the rim and sent Williams back. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Allen block a shot with such force before.

His second block was uneventful. It was an easy rotation and recovery to stop the encounter on the edge. But if you look at how the game ended, these two blocks will be respected.

LOSER – Lonzo Ball

I’m sorry to say, but we may have seen enough of Lonzo’s football this season. He has struggled to find his rhythm and the Cavs can’t afford to keep waiting for him to find it. At the very least, he needs a long stretch on the bench before Kenny Atkinson returns to Ball’s minutes.

Ball is shooting 27% from the three-point line this season. That did not stop him from trying to score four points and get three points in the first five minutes on the court today. One of them was a back-to-back jumper from the corner at the start of the shot clock.

Zo threw the ball out of bounds on the next play and never returned.

LOSER – Active Case

Thunder has been a historically good defense for two years in a row. If you’re going to win them, you really have to get it.

Cleveland’s offense didn’t get it today.

The Cavs didn’t hit their first three-pointer of the game until late in the first quarter when Craig Proter Jr. kicking them out with a ball. They went into halftime shooting 4-18 from deep and continued to shoot 5-27 as the fourth quarter began.

Cleveland finished the game shooting 8-35 from deep (22%).

You can’t beat this Thunder team if your offense doesn’t play very well. Thunder already makes enough defense to make your life difficult. A lack of open images – or worse – making an unnecessary profit is a recipe for disaster.

The Cavs had 21 turnovers. You can credit some of that to OKC’s defense. But you can also attribute a number of those turnovers to poor communication or bad decision-making from Cleveland. Take throwing the ball out of bounds in the backcourt after a defensive rebound, for example. Or you drive into a crowd and find yourself stuck without dribbling. All of this is avoidable – and it all plays right into OKC’s hand.

You can cut this game a million different ways. But a poor shooting night and a high turnover rate is a death sentence against the Thunder.