2 studs and 1 dud for the Cavs from Saturday’s win over the Thunder

There’s just something special about home cooking, isn’t there? The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back after only their second home loss of the season to put up a 110-102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Saturday night.

That loss to the Sacramento Kings on Friday night was definitely a disappointing one, given how the Cavs fell on their faces in the closing moments late. But, in a credit to them, they responded on Saturday night, and the Cavaliers got the job done. The win solidified their spot as the third seed in the Eastern Conference, and improved their home record to an astounding 12-2, which is tied for the best in the entire NBA with the Golden State Warriors.

The two big men down low did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Cavaliers, with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen both contributing 21 points on the night, and they combined for 23 rebounds. Caris LeVert had a strong night filling in for the ailing Donovan Mitchell. LeVert led the team in scoring with 22 points on 9-of-22 shooting from the field.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led both teams in scoring with 23, but it wasn’t enough for the lowly Thunder who dropped to 11-15 on the season. Second-year guard Josh Giddey was impressive for Oklahoma City as well, finishing with a double-double (17 points, 13 rebounds).

Overall the Cavaliers improved to 17-10 on the season, with some tough tests upcoming before Christmas. Before we look ahead, let’s take a look at two studs and one concerning dud moving forward for J.B. Bickerstaff and the Cavaliers.