Betting Results:
Head to Head: Thunder, odds 1.723
Line: Thunder (-2.5), odds 1.917
Total Points: Over (233), odds 1.909 - winning tip (at 232.5)

Pre-game Prediction
Cavaliers, 41%
Thunder, 59%

This was our tipped game for the evening, and despite losing our bet on the Cavs on the moneyline, we won the other three bets, to give us a nice profit of $15.60 from $40 staked. Happily gobble that return on investment up all season long!

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 40 as Thunder roll past Cavaliers 134-114 in matchup of NBA leaders

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Basketball Writer The Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points and eight assists in three quarters, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Cleveland Cavaliers 134-114 on Thursday night in a matchup of teams with the best records in the NBA.

The Western Conference-leading Thunder and the East-leading Cavaliers now have matching 34-6 records. The Cavaliers won the first meeting 129-122 on Jan. 8. In the rematch, the Thunder handed the Cavaliers their worst loss of the season.

Lu Dort scored a season-high 22 points and Jalen Williams added 19 for Oklahoma City, which won its fourth straight.

Darius Garland had 20 points and nine assists for Cleveland, and Jarrett Allen added 13 points. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland’s top scorer, was held to eight points on 3-for-15 shooting.

The Cavaliers led 12-10 before Oklahoma City took over. The Thunder closed the first quarter on a 22-2 run to take a 32-14 lead. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 points in the opening period.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 points in a three-minute stretch late in the first half to help the Thunder take a 75-49 lead at the break.

The Thunder matched a season high for points in a quarter with 44 in the third to take a 119-81 lead.

Takeaways

Cavaliers: The Cavaliers, one of the best defensive teams in the league, had no answers in this one. Oklahoma City shot 60.3% in the first three quarters.

Thunder: Oklahoma City continued to find ways to win with key players out. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, the team’s leading rebounder, missed the game with a strained his left calf. The Thunder held their own on the boards and dominated nearly everything else.

Key moment

Oklahoma City went on a 30-2 run from the first quarter into the early part of the second that opened up the game.

Key stat

Oklahoma City committed just six turnovers to Cleveland’s 21.

This is how we previewed this game....

The biggest game of the season so far - preview for the NBA Championships? We think so.

A meeting of the NBA's top two teams. OKC with a 33-6 record, 6 games ahead in the Western Conference host Cleveland with a 34-5 record, 6.5 games ahead in the East. It's a battle of this season's big boys.

The sportsbooks are finally taking Cleveland's title credentials seriously, take a look at our NBA Futures odds article for updated Thunder and Cavaliers Championship odds.

The bookies have OKC listed as narrow, 1.5 point favourites for this game, which makes sense given home court advantage.

Both teams are 4-1 in their last five games, OKC lost in Cleveland and Cleveland lost at home to Indiana - a result we tipped successfully.

Oklahoma are 9-1 in their last 10 games, 16-2 at home, on a W3 streak. The Cavs are also 9-1 in their last 10, 14-3 on the road, on a W1 streak revenge against the Pacers)

Before we make our decision about how we are tipping this mega game, let's see what the main NBA tipping sites have got to say on it.

(Our Player Prop Bet Tips are further down this page)

Dimers - forecasting a 117-114 win for the Thunder, and a mild feeling for Under 233
Clutch Points - Thunder -3.5
Pickswise - Thunder -2.5, SGA to score more than 30 points
Sportskeeda - Thunder win, Over 233.5
Betting Odds - Thunder on the moneyline
Sportsline - projecting a 116-111 win for OKC, tipping with a slight lean Thunder -2.5, and Thunder to win the game, but a stronger "moderate" tip on Under 232.5

We're with Cleveland for this game, being able to get odds greater than 2.00 on Cleveland for any game this season is, in our opinion worth taking. We are also going to back the Over market, the sportsbooks have shaved 3 points from this total in the last few hours, it is a shave too far in our opinion.

Our first bet tip lost, but the other three won. to give us a very healthy betting profit of $15.60 from $40 staked. a 39% profit is not to be sniffed at in any business, especially not when it comes to NBA tipping!

We were right about the Overs, the game generating 248 points, far higher than the 232.5 set when we published our tip.