Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson called Thursday a trap game. Cleveland avoided getting caught. Barely. Just 24 hours after an emotional and draining win, the Cavs held off the pesky Toronto Raptors, 132-126,

The NBA regular-season schedule is rather unforgiving. The Cleveland Cavaliers needed to take on the Toronto Raptors on the second night of a back-to-back after claiming a rousing 129-122 win over the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder the night before.

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Watch the Game Highlights from Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors, 01/09/2025

As All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell rested, the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers secured their 12th consecutive win in a wild one with the Toronto Raptors.

In their win over the Thunder, the Cavs finally put to rest any remaining doubt, criticism, or concern about their status as a contender.

The Cavs are now 32–4 on the season, the best record in the NBA and best record through 36 games by any team since the 73-win Golden State Warriors in the 2015–16 season. Cleveland is just the seventh team in NBA history to win at least 32 of its first 36 games. Four of the previous six went on to win the championship.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been overlooked, ignored and doubted by many this season. That’s why defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in a nationally televised game was so crucial. It was a meeting between the two teams with the best records in the league.