The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 118 - 109, at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Thursday. Despite there being just nine ties and seven lead changes in this game, it was close throughout. In fact, neither team led by more than 12 points, as the nine - point final margin was one of the largest leads of the game. Oklahoma City won this game, despite being out shot from the field, from three - point range and from the free - throw line. Rebounding was the decisive statistic, with the Thunder winning that battle, 51 - 35. They also dominated the assist - to - turnover ratio, recording 10 more assists and committing three less turnovers. The Cavaliers (36 - 16) were expected to rest their starters for this game, but they ended up playing in this tough loss. Kyrie Irving led the team, as he tallied 28 points and four assists on 11 - of - 18 shooting. LeBron James finished second on the team with 18 points, five rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks. Kevin Love recorded a double - double, totaling 15 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. The Cavaliers host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday for their next game. The Thunder (31 - 23) have rode Russell Westbrook's triple - double train all year and they got another one here. Westbrook finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals. Victor Oladipo finished second on the team with 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Steven Adams was third on the team with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Cameron Payne was the only bench player in double figures, as he dropped 15 points. Oklahoma City will have to play the Golden State Warriors for their next game on Saturday.
["TeamStat(G,'Thunder') has 23 Losses ,has 118 Total points ,has 31 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Cavaliers') has 16 Losses ,has 109 Total points ,has 36 Wins ."]