Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Thunder Beat Cavaliers 117-112 as Gilgeous-Alexander Scores 43

Oklahoma City got the road win its injury list said it should not. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 43 points and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 32.6 seconds left, and the Thunder beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117 to 112 on Monday night at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.

A lead that changed hands late

Cleveland led 30 to 26 after the first quarter. Oklahoma City answered with a 33-point second quarter and led 59 to 48 at halftime. The Cavaliers scored 36 points in the third quarter to cut the lead to 90 to 84, then moved in front late. Donovan Mitchell found Evan Mobley cutting for a basket and a 108 to 105 Cleveland lead with 3:21 left, and the game was tied in the final minute.

One more chance

Gilgeous-Alexander missed a shot late, but Cleveland fumbled the rebound out of bounds and gave him a second chance. He hit a three-pointer for a 115 to 112 lead with 32.6 seconds left. Cleveland's final attempts missed, and Oklahoma City closed out the five-point win. Gilgeous-Alexander made 14 of 35 shots and 11 of 12 free throws, and added four rebounds and eight assists. It was only his third game over 30 points in the first seven games of the season.

Ajay Mitchell scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds for Oklahoma City. Kenrich Williams added 12 points, and Aday Mara scored 10 points with nine rebounds. Isaiah Hartenstein pulled down 14 rebounds. No Cleveland player reached 20 points. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 17 points and 11 assists, Meleek Thomas also scored 17, Mobley finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, and James Harden and Jarrett Allen scored 14 each.

Won inside and at the line

Oklahoma City won the game at the free throw line and inside. The Thunder made 21 of 23 free throws against Cleveland's 14 of 24, and outscored the Cavaliers 50 to 30 in the paint.

The Thunder played without six men: Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber. The win snapped a two-game losing streak, after losses to Dallas and Houston by an average of 22.5 points. Oklahoma City improved to 5 and 2, and Cleveland fell to 4 and 3. Head coach Mark Daigneault has had to rebuild his rotation around Gilgeous-Alexander and Mitchell while the six injured players recover. The same two teams meet again on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.