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We must get seven games of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers battling for the 2025 Larry O'Brien Trophy.

With the Thunder’s hot start, NBA Hall of Famer and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley recently made a bold statement about them. “OKC is the best team in the NBA,” Barkley said. “Shai Gilgeous is flat out balling and they’re not even healthy. That’s what’s scary.”

Anyway, this was something I heard a lot covering the team in those dark days of 2021 and 2022: What if the Thunder’s tanking turns some fans away? What if those fans don’t come back? What if the team moves and all is lost?

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The two best teams in the NBA, the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder and East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, face off for the first of two meetings this month on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

Jarrett Allen scored 25 points, with Evan Mobley adding 21 in the marquee meeting of the regular season, with Mitchell getting 11 from 3-of-16 shooting

The Oklahoma City Thunder head to the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in a non-conference matchup between the top two teams in the NBA. The Thunder are 30-5 overall, and 13-3 on the road, at the top of the Western Conference. The Cavs are 31-4 overall, and 18-1 at home, at the top of the Eastern Conference.

The Oklahoma City Thunder got the upper hand on the 26-10 Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon, eclipsing them 105-92 inside Paycom Center to build its win streak

Jarrett Allen scored 25 points, Evan Mobley added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers ended Oklahoma City’s 15-game winning streak by beating the Thunder 129-122 in a marquee meeting between the NBA’s top two teams.