There was nothing redeeming about the first quarter for the Cavaliers Saturday. Cleveland allowed 43 points to the Thunder at Quicken Loans Arena and Oklahoma City looked unstoppable.
It was so bad for the Cavs, their home fans booed them off the court to end the opening frame. But as embarrassing as those first 12 minutes were for Cleveland, some of the stats they allowed were actually kind of impressive... for the Thunder.
Five stats from Cleveland's terrible first quarter
- The Cavaliers allowed more points in the first quarter Saturday than they have any quarter this season. The 43 points allowed by Cleveland passed its previous worst output of 40.
- The 43 points scored for the Thunder was the most they have scored in any quarter this season. Oklahoma City is 19th in the league in scoring, putting up 104.3 points per game.
- Cleveland's first-quarter defensive debacle was the second-worst in the history of LeBron James teams. James and the Heat allowed 44 points to the Clippers in 2010-11.
- The Thunder scored their 40th point, which tied a season-high for points allowed in a quarter for Cleveland, with 70 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
- Oklahoma City started the game on an 8-0 run and went on runs of 9-0 and 6-0 in the first 12 minutes as well.
In other news from the game, Cavaliers forward Kevin Love was not feeling well and went to the locker room. His return was initially announced as questionable.
The Cavs did play better in the second quarter to cut into the lead before halftime.
