The Cavaliers (54-10) and Thunder (53-11) haven’t been given their simply credit score regardless of proudly owning one of the best data within the NBA.
Many have pigeonholed them as regular-season powerhouses missing the expertise or pedigree to problem for the NBA championship.
Over the weekend, a lot of these doubts could have been quelled. The Cavs prolonged their winning streak to 14 with a 112-100 victory over the Bucks, a red-hot staff that had gained eight of its final 10. With the win, the Cavaliers — who average a league-high 122.9 points — proved they’ll prevail in scrappy, low-scoring video games and never simply shootouts, a trait that ought to maintain them in good stead within the playoffs.
Sunday’s sport marked the first time since Dec. 3 when no Cavs participant scored 20 factors. It spoke volumes of Kenny Atkinson’s squad to tug off the win by hanging its hats on protection, holding the Bucks to 42.9 p.c taking pictures, the latter’s lowest mark since Feb. 25.
The Thunder additionally confirmed quite a lot of mettle by drubbing the Nuggets 127-103, extending their win streak to seven. It was a exceptional feat to include Denver to 18.3 points below its season average and, extra impressively, to twenty fourth-quarter factors. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray had been held to a mixed 16-of-40, their most inefficient mixed output all season — a testomony to OKC’s lockdown protection.
OKC additional proved it may be bodily within the inside, outrebounding Denver 56-48 and registering 14 blocked pictures. Beforehand, some questioned the Thunder’s potential to thrive in bodily battles, terming it the one weak point that would derail their postseason hopes.
No, these will not be the 2014-15 Hawks, who gained 60 regular-season video games however had been uncovered within the playoffs. The Thunder and Cavaliers are authentic No. 1 seeds and are on a possible collision course in June’s NBA Finals. It is time to begin displaying them extra respect.
