Thunder: Cavaliers snap OKC's 14-game home win streak

Maybe after this latest humbling, and at times humiliating performance, the message will get across.

The Thunder saw its 14-game home winning streak come to an unexpected and unceremonious end on Friday night after Cleveland came into Chesapeake Energy Arena and out-toughed the home team from start to finish before leaving with a 96-90 win.

The Cavs entered the night nine games under .500 yet hung with the Western-Conference leading Thunder like a fellow heavyweight looking to prove a point.

“We came out kind of flat. We ran through the motions. And we gave them confidence,” said Thunder guard Royal Ivey.

The Thunder (31-9) never led by more than five points against the Cavs. And when it became clear very early on that the game would be a dogfight — there were 20 lead changes and 21 ties — Oklahoma City uncharacteristically struggled to score or come up with stops.

Turnovers and rebounding, the Thunder's two most problematic areas this season, once again were the cause of the collapse.

The Thunder got out-rebounded 51-40 and gave up 21 offensive rebounds, one shy of tying a season-high. Oklahoma City also turned it over 17 times, which led to 18 Cleveland points.

“That's the game right there,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks.

In truth, the final score was only a formality.

The Thunder toyed with its opponent for the third time in four games and, this time, it was costly. Two nights earlier, the Thunder needed to overcome a 16-point deficit late in the third quarter to overtake Phoenix, cooling off the Suns with some shutdown fourth-quarter defense. But last Saturday at Atlanta, the Thunder couldn't avoid a seven-point defeat despite facing a short-handed Hawks squad.

Throughout the season, the Thunder has piled up wins despite similar instability, wins at Orlando and at Philadelphia, as well as at home against Denver serving as other recent examples.

On Friday, the Thunder gave up 27 fourth-quarter points on 11-for-21 shooting and watched Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combine to score just 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting in the final period. Against the Magic, Durant alone had 18 in the fourth.