Thunder strike from long range, torch Cavs

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder drilled 21 three-pointers in a 121-113 victory over Cleveland on Sunday that halted the Cavaliers’ seven-game National Basketball Association (NBA) winning streak.

Isaiah Joe scored 22 points and Cason Wallace added 20 points and 10 assists for the short-handed Thunder, who improved their Western Conference-leading record to 44-14 despite the absence of injured starters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams as well as Ajay Mitchell and Alex Caruso.

“It’s a lot of fun just getting the ball rolling,” said Wallace, who had just one turnover and excelled in a tough assignment of guarding James Harden.

“Early game, so we tried to get our legs into it right from the jump. I feel like we came out and we had a little bit of momentum early in the game,” added Wallace after a contest in which the Thunder scored the first nine points and led by as many as 23 in the first quarter.

The teams traded the lead in the third, but Oklahoma City took the lead into the fourth and did not relinquish it.

Seven Thunder players scored in double figures, with center Chet Holmgren contributing a 17-point, 15-rebound double-double.

Harden and Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points apiece for Cleveland.

In San Francisco, Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski scored 15 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets, 128-117.

Podziemski added 15 rebounds and nine assists, helping the Warriors withstand Denver star Nikola Jokic’s 19th triple-double of the season.