Donovan Mitchell believes the Cleveland Cavaliers' win over the Oklahoma City Thunder "speaks to their growth" in the NBA this year.
The Cavaliers extended their winning streak to 11 games with their 129-122 win, improving their already league-best record to 32-4 and ending the Thunder's 15-game winning streak.
Jarrett Allen scored 25 points, with Evan Mobley adding 21 in the marquee meeting of the regular season, with Mitchell getting 11 from 3-of-16 shooting.
Despite his lower-than-normal score, Mitchell was delighted with the result, especially against a team in red-hot form like the Thunder.
"It just speaks to our growth," Mitchell said. "I told everybody after the game, as a unit, we don't win this game last year.
"Everybody that came in did something positive to affect the game, whether it was scoring, rebounding, defending, whatever it may be. That's a team win, and that's what it's going to take for us to be the team we want to be.
"And honestly, man, that's a big win. I think we're all excited about it and obviously, this is one game, and no championships are won tonight, but it's something to be proud of."
CAVS WIN!@KayJewelers | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/owIwRsVzor
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 9, 2025
The game lived up to the hype in the build-up, with 30 lead changes throughout, while neither team led by more than nine points as they went level eight times.
Wednesday's victory keeps Cleveland on track to match the Golden State Warriors' record of 73 regular-season wins from 2015-16.
"It's very clear that we belong here," Mitchell added. "I don't think we are waiting for the national media to be like, 'Oh, they belong.'
"I think for us, we knew, but you got to go out there and prove it. We went 31-4, people still don't believe. We win [on Wednesday], people still don't believe. We got to continue to just to be us."
As for the Thunder, while they have also accumulated over 30 wins this season, this was the second high-profile defeat in recent weeks, having also lost the NBA Cup to the Milwaukee Bucks, though that loss does not show in the standings.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Jalen Williams had 25 for the Thunder as they suffered their first defeat since December 1.
When asked if there was anything to take away from those two losses, Gilgeous-Alexander said: "No. We just lost twice in a month-and-a-half.
"It sucks that they're the high-profile games, but like I said, we're human out there. [We] can't be perfect. And losing twice in a month and a half I'll take no matter what stage the games they're on."