A Thunder Storm: Cavaliers Are Overwhelmed In Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) – Kevin Durant scored all of his 25 points in the first three quarters, and Oklahoma City rolled to a 106-77 victory over hapless Cleveland.

Jeff Green and James Harden added 19 points apiece in the Thunder's third straight win, and Russell Westbrook scored 14 with a game-high 11 assists.

Oklahoma City built a 28-point lead with a huge run at the end of the third quarter and was able to sit Durant, Green and the rest of its starters for the final 12 minutes.

"It felt good to get some rest," said Durant. "We work so hard and we were rewarded tonight."

Anthony Parker scored 12 points and Daniel Gibson had 11 to lead the Cavaliers, but they were the only players in double figures. Anderson Varejao had a game-high 16 rebounds.

The Cavs shot just 33.8 percent and saw their losing streak reach eight games — the longest skid for Cleveland since LeBron James' rookie season in 2003-04.

Indeed, Cleveland is a wounded team heading into Wednesday's rematch with James and the Miami Heat. The Cavs haven't won since getting pasted by the visiting Heat, 118-90, in James' return to the city on December 2.

Cleveland head coach Byron Scott said he wasn't thinking ahead to the Miami game.

"Right now, my biggest concern is those guys in that locker room. I'm not thinking about Miami or the next game, it's just about getting [my] guys to start understanding a little bit more of what we have to do as a team," Scott said.

It's not as if the Cavs had no fight in them Sunday. After trailing by as many as 22 points in the second quarter, they tried to make a game of it.

Cleveland fought back to within nine points when Parker's jumper with 21 seconds left in the half capped a 12-1 run.

But Westbrook scored the final points of the half, giving Oklahoma City a 56-45 lead at intermission, and the Thunder used a 19-1 run at the end of the third quarter to put the game away.

Durant scored seven of the 19 points and Eric Maynor capped the surge with a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Oklahoma City an 86-58 lead going into the fourth.

Harden made two free throws at the beginning of the quarter, pushing the run to 21-1 for a 30-point lead. Cleveland was never closer than 25 after that, while the Thunder led by as many as 31 in the late stages despite playing only their reserves.

"Everybody was participating and got involved in the game offensively," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. "I thought we displayed good energy throughout the game."

Oklahoma City snapped a four-game losing streak to the Cavaliers, but those setbacks all came against the James-led team…The Thunder shot 53 percent from the field, made seven three-pointers and forced 17 turnovers.

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Cavaliers Can't Seal The Deal, Fall To Hawks 100-88

Marvin Williams scored a team-high 22 points and Al Horford had 16 points and 12 rebounds, as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 100-88, at Quicken Loans Arena.

Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby each finished with 15 points apiece, with Johnson adding nine assists for Atlanta, which has won its first four games of the season and is off to its best start since the 2008-09 campaign when it began 6-0. Jamal Crawford chipped in with 16 points in a reserve role.

J.J. Hickson went for a career-high 31 points for the Cavaliers, who have dropped three straight after defeating Boston in their season-opener.

Mo Williams (groin) played in his first game of the year and scored 12 points off the bench.

Marvin Williams scored 10 points in the opening quarter, as the hot shooting Hawks made 71.4 percent from the floor to grab a 40-27 lead after the opening 12 minutes.

Crawford's jumper early in the second increased the Atlanta advantage to 46-29 and it would maintain a comfortable double-digit edge throughout the period. Cleveland was able to get as close as 10 on a few occasions late, but Marvin Williams drained a pair of free throws with just over a second to play to give the visitors a 59-47 lead heading into the half.

Cleveland went on a 13-5 run to start the third and closed to within 64-60 after Anthony Parker hit from three-point range. Mo Milliams' triple with 3:22 left in the quarter made it a 70-69 game in favor of Atlanta.

The Hawks built the lead back up to five a short time later, but Ryan Hollins made a pair from the stripe and Mo Williams hit a jumper with 15.7 seconds left to draw the Cavs to within a point at 74-73 after three quarters.

Gibson gave the hosts a brief lead with a driving layup to start the fourth before Johnson made a jumper and layup sandwiched around a Crawford three, and the Hawks were back in front, 81-75, with just under 10 minutes in the game.

Cleveland got as close as three, 87-84, following a pair of free throws from Hickson near the midway point, but Horford answered with a dunk on the Hawks' next possession, and Marvin Williams' 18-footer ended a stretch of six straight points that gave Atlanta a 10-point lead with just over two minutes to play.

Cavaliers forward Antawn Jamison missed the game with a sore left knee…Cleveland won three of four meetings with Atlanta last season and despite the loss is 20-6 in the past 26 matchups between the clubs…Atlanta shot 44 percent from the field, while Cleveland made 43.2 percent of its shots.

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