It’ll be interesting to see which identity is able to better sustain success once the postseason is here. Throw in the possibility of a rematch in the NBA Finals, and how either team adjusts away from its identity could be the difference between winning it all or being disappointed by season’s end.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points and eight assists in three quarters, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Cleveland Cavaliers 134-114 in a matchup of teams with the best records in the NBA.

They brace for it, watch film of the potential fatalities. A fortunate few have escaped. But all endure pain, customary when you step onto the pale hardwood in Oklahoma City.  Slow, 48-minute death — just three quarters if the damage is done like it has been three times this past week — by 1,