NBA
Only Four Teams Throughout History Have Better Records After 36 Games Than the Cavaliers
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All posts by Charlie RhodesUpdated10 hours ago on January 09, 2025
The Cavaliers season record ticked over with yet another win after an historic night against Oklahoma, and in doing so they edged a little closer to joining illustrious company.
Cleveland Cavaliers Season Record After 36 Games is Among Best in NBA History
Few contests in recent history have garnered the level of intrigue that the Thunder and Cavaliers generated on Wednesday night.
The two preeminent teams in the NBA at this moment in time, each of whom lead their respective conferences, promised a blockbuster billing – and we got just that.
It marked only the third occasion in league history pitting teams together who held double-digit winning streaks.
To put into perspective just how rare this is, Seattle and Utah – all the way back in January 1995 – marked the previous occurrence of this phenomenon.
Both teams went tit-for-tat in each quarter, swinging the pendulum of victory on several occasions.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who recently jumped ahead of Nikola Jokic as NBA sportsbooks‘ new MVP favorite, posted the most points on the night with his 20th 30-plus point display of the season.
However, with just over a minute left on the clock Evan Mobley – who was only bettered by Jarrett Allen amongst the Cavs for points – hit a 10-footer in the key to move his team into a five-point lead.
That proved to be the defining moment in a breathtaking contest, which saw Cleveland prevail with an eventual seven-point win and renewed bragging rights as the league’s outstanding franchise.
Cleveland Cavaliers:
— Snapped Thunder 15-game win streak
— Undefeated against the West
— 11 straight wins
— 19-1 at home
— 1 seedOn pace to win 73 games. pic.twitter.com/byugsBV33q
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 9, 2025
Both teams will run it back next Thursday (January 16) where the Thunder will look to level up the head-to-head.
For now, that victory means the Cleveland not only cemented their iron-clad spot at the summit of the Eastern Conference, but it also stretched the Cavaliers season record to 32-4.
After 36 games, that puts them among some of the best teams in NBA history at this stage of a season.
Only four teams hold a better record; Warriors (34-2) in 2015-16, 76ers (33-3) in 1966-67, the Lakers (33-3) in 1971-72 and the Bulls (33-3) in 1995-96.
