What They're Saying- Cavaliers-Thunder rematch being called a ‘Finals preview’

Last week, the Cavaliers defeated the Thunder 129-122 in a historic showdown of conference leaders; the thrilling game featured 30 lead changes and no double-digit leads.

Thursday’s rematch in Oklahoma City has the hoops world buzzing again.

Check out the top reactions to last week’s instant classic and chatter around this highly anticipated rematch – leading with a bold prediction from Shaq.

Thunder vs Cavs in The Finals? 🔮

"That's what I know will happen for a fact" – @SHAQ pic.twitter.com/IMTF1emDdW

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 15, 2025

Chuck & Shaq have been singing the @cavs & @okcthunder's praises all season 👊

Don't miss The Rematch tonight at 7:30pm ET on TNT 🍿 pic.twitter.com/V7XXn3Aqcq

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 16, 2025

A rematch between the East's & West's best ⚔️⚡️@cavs vs @okcthunder // 7:30pm ET on TNT pic.twitter.com/DpD5EX95Uv

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 16, 2025

Cavs/Thunder again next Thursday. Let’s go!!!

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) January 9, 2025

HEADLINES:

• Is There Anything Jalen Williams Can’t Do? – Mirin Fader, Ringer
• Cavs-Thunder, the rematch: Examining Cleveland’s case for 70+ wins – Chris Herring, ESPN
• How the Thunder turned ‘youthful energy’ into a winning culture – Tim MacMahon, ESPN
• Often compared to Kevin Garnett, Cavs’ Evan Mobley has added one skill KG never did – Joe Vardon, Athletic
• Has Jalen Williams made the leap to become the Thunder’s second All-Star? – Anthony Slater, Athletic
• NBA midseason awards: Can anybody end Nikola Jokic’s reign as MVP? – Ben Golliver, WaPo
• Why OKC Thunder misses Chet Holmgren against Cleveland Cavaliers more than other teams – Joe Mussatto, Oklahoman
• What to watch this week in the NBA: Pacers, Kings rising, Cavs-Thunder get a rematch – Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic
• Cavaliers at the zenith – Tom Ziller, Substack
• NBA Twitter amazed by exciting Thunder vs. Cavaliers game – Clemente Almanza, Yahoo
• Takeaways from Cavs-Thunder, the game of the year in the NBA — NBA Insiders, ESPN.com
• Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley figures out his basketball role — Branson Wright, Andscape

PODCASTS:

• Cavs prove they are legit title contenders & imagining a Wemby-Zion pairing in San Antonio — The Kevin O’Connor Show
• LISTEN: Talking Thunder-Cavaliers Rematch, Cason Wallace and OKC’s Finals Chances – Sports Illustrated
• Cavs Best Team In The NBA, Zion’s Future, Jimmy Butler Drama — KG Certified
• Thunder-Cavs Lives Up To The Hype, Our All-Star Selection Outlook — The Hoop Collective
• Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby — The Athletic NBA Daily
• Thunder-Cavaliers Lived Up To The Hype — No Dunks

SOCIAL CHATTER:
https://x.com/ESPNNBA/status/1879983748948627903
https://x.com/NateDuncanNBA/status/1879975050146939167

Jalen Williams knows the Thunder need to stay locked in no matter what. pic.twitter.com/bJ070ZeLeW

— TheYoungManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree) January 16, 2025

Often compared to Kevin Garnett, Cavs’ Evan Mobley looks like Al Horford heading into the OKC rematch, ⁦@TheAthleticNBA⁩ https://t.co/ylNcjvPCZ6

— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) January 16, 2025

“It would be silly to put a ceiling on how good he can be.” —Shai Gilgeous-Alexander@MirinFader on how Jalen Williams is taking his do-it-all brand of basketball to another level: https://t.co/ynyfRP4RRq pic.twitter.com/0VzMEJxry6

— RingerNBA (@ringernba) January 16, 2025

From postgame barking to 'the boring stuff': How the Thunder built one of the NBA’s best cultures https://t.co/VW9oYwBRDj

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 16, 2025

Cavaliers-Thunder By The Numbers https://t.co/caQbovKiyH

— Hoops Wire (@WireHoops) January 16, 2025

"They are good enough to win four rounds of the playoffs."@WindhorstESPN believes that the Cavaliers have the potential to make it out of the eastern conference 💪 pic.twitter.com/xGLMj03l8l

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 13, 2025

It’s rare to be able to make such a definitive statement after one NBA game, but here we are: the Cavs really are the league’s best team right now, ⁦@TheAthleticNBA⁩ https://t.co/rxDj1dIEII

— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) January 9, 2025

The Cavs vs. Thunder had 30 (!!!) lead changes.

Finals Preview? 👀🍿 pic.twitter.com/cpRJFqIE2x

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 9, 2025

Huge Statement win for the Cavs tonight!!!

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 9, 2025

I had VERY high expectations for Cavs-Thunder and they've exceeded them. What a great game this has been!

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 9, 2025

Spida's Cavs are DOMINANT at home 😤 pic.twitter.com/oA9SAMZt1A

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 9, 2025

Up next: The Rematch pic.twitter.com/bjZiNmtbmN

— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) January 15, 2025

CAVS SNAP THUNDER'S 15-GAME WIN STREAK IN A THRILLER 🔥

Cleveland improves to a 32-4 record (No. 1 in NBA) and win 11th straight game 👏 pic.twitter.com/5XcPZOVJ45

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 9, 2025

The NBA has released its latest Power Rankings:

1) Cavaliers
2) Thunder
3) Celtics
4) Rockets
5) Grizzlies

Cavs-Thunder rematch on Thursday 🍿 pic.twitter.com/p7LEWcr0F8

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 13, 2025

Double bigs killed OKC. It’s not the rebounding margin as much as the fight for rebounds and the fouls that went with it. Hartenstein isn’t great at the rim against athletes like CLE has and doesn’t stretch the floor so CLE always had a big against drives. Really impressive win.

— Russillo (@ryenarussillo) January 9, 2025

Loss does not take away from monster week + monster month + monster season for OKC. Their defense took NY + BOS out of rhythm, which is very hard to do — let alone w/o Caruso and Chet. Ran into a great team on the road tonight. Wallace/Wiggins/K. Williams providing more lately

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) January 9, 2025

Fitting that the final two buckets of the meaningful portion of this game came on strong moves from Evan Mobley and Darius Garland.

What a tremendous game, and a heck of (what should be, barring some insanity in the final 27 secs) a statement win for the Cavaliers.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) January 9, 2025

Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell: “We belong here. I don’t think we are waiting for the national media to say we belong. We know.”

— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) January 9, 2025

Thunder improve to 33-6.

3rd straight win.
Won 18 of last 19.
14-1 vs the East.
16-4 on the road.

Next up: Thunder vs Cavs Part II in OKC on TNT on Thursday.

— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) January 15, 2025

Cavs and Thunder both win. Cleveland will enter Thursday's rematch with a one-game lead in the standings and current control over the tiebreaker.

— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) January 15, 2025

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