November 26th, 2008 
Matt Loede 
Posted in 
For the second straight night, the Cavaliers took care of business so early in the game, it seemed more like a preseason game than a game a month into the season. Pounding the young and over matched Oklahoma City Thunder into early submission, the Cavaliers improved to 12-3 with an impressive 117-82 win.
And it wasn’t even that close.
The team jumped out to a 13-0 advantage before some of the 19,753 at the Q even got into their seats. They led by as many as 21 in the first quarter before ending the quarter up 33-14.
The beating continued in the second quarter, a Wally Szczerbiak jumper at 4:58 made it 56-23, and then a J.J. Hickson slam at 1:23 put the Cavs up 35 at 64-29. They would lead 66-32 at the half.
The five starters took most of the night off, as LeBron James didn’t play at all in the second or fourth quarters, and he still ended the night with 14 points in 17 minutes. Zydrunas Ilgauskas led the Cavs with 17 points in 13 and a half minutes.
Dainel Gibson led the bench crew with 15 points, as all the bench players scored, and every active player on the roster had at least three points. Hickson continued to impress, as the rookie had 14 points on 6-of-12 from the field. Even little used Tarrence Kinsey had 11 points in 9 and a half minutes.
The Thunder, who drop to 1-15 on the season, were led by Chris Wilcox who had 14 points off the bench. Oklahoma City is a team that offers little, and against the Cavs the game was a laugher most of the night, as it became apparent from about the first five minutes when the Cavs led 17-2 that it was going to be an easy night.
The 12-3 record for the Cavs is the best to start a season in franchise history. They are the only Eastern Conference team to be undefeated at home, now sitting at 8-0. They will enjoy the holiday with a day off before they host the Golden State Warriors Friday night at 7:30.
