Oklahoma City, OK – Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyrie Irving scored 14 of his game- high 31 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 114-104 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
Irving also dished out nine assists, while Jarrett Jack and Spencer Hawes tallied 21 and 19 points, respectively. Tristan Thompson chipped in 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Cavs snapped a three-game losing streak.
"I thought our pace was really good offensively. One of the things that we keep preaching to our guys is 'push the ball, push the ball, push the ball,'" said Cavs coach Mike Brown.
Kevin Durant flirted with a triple-double, scoring 28 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists for Oklahoma City, which fell to 0-3 to start a six-game homestand.
It's the Thunder's first three-game home losing streak since a six-game slide from March 18-April 7, 2009, their first season after relocating from Seattle.
"In an NBA season you're going to have some ups and downs," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. "You just got to stay with what we do and keep believing in each other. Our guys have always done that so I'm very confident. We have to get better defensively."
Russell Westbrook finished with 24 points and nine assists, while Serge Ibaka added 16 points and 13 rebounds in the setback.
It was the first game for the Thunder since they learned center Kendrick Perkins will miss six weeks after undergoing surgery on his groin. Oklahoma City is 0-4 in games Perkins has missed this season.
Cleveland trailed 86-83 early in the fourth when Irving bookended a 10-2 run with a pair of 3-pointers to give the Cavs a five-point advantage.
The Thunder answered with six straight to grab a one-point lead, but Cleveland regained control after a pair of free throws from Irving. Durant then answered with a 3 to continue the seesaw affair.
Jack nailed a 3 before Irving buried a trey and Hawes followed with a running layup in the lane to give the Cavs a 103-97 advantage.
The flurry from Cleveland was part of a 15-2 burst over the closing minutes to seal it for the visitors.
No team led by more than seven in the first half. The Thunder led 27-26 after one quarter and 52-51 at the break.
Oklahoma City opened the third quarter on a 15-4 run to grab its largest lead of the game, 67-55, when Westbrook capped the spurt with a 3 at 6:49.
Cleveland answered with an 11-2 run and trailed 76-72 entering the fourth.
Game Notes
Cleveland owned a 41-40 edge on the glass ... Cleveland was 23-for-24 from the free throw line ... The Cavs scored 21 points on 20 OKC turnovers ... Cleveland had a 44-32 advantage in the paint ... There were 15 lead changes and 11 ties.