Sam Merrill

Sam Merrill s hot shooting wasn t enough to get the Cavs past the shorthanded Thunder.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Isaiah Joe scored 22 points and Cason Wallace added 20 points and 10 assists to help the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-113 on Sunday.Chet Holmgren had 17 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks for Oklahoma City (44-14), which made 21 of 41 3-point attempts (51.2%), including six by Joe, and converted 17 turnovers into 31 points.The Thunder played without injured starters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain) and Jalen Williams (strained right hamstring). and key contributors Ajay Mitchell (abdominal strain) and Alex Caruso (sprained left ankle).Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Sam Merrill each had 20 points for Cleveland (36-22), which lost for the first time in eight games. The Cavaliers, who made 13 of 39 3-pointers (33.3%), fell behind early but couldn't complete the comeback against the hot-shooting Thunder. Oklahoma City turned to the long ball early and built a 28-5 lead on the strength of five 3-pointers, including three by Joe. Oklahoma City made 14 of 22 (63.6%) from beyond the arc before halftime, but by then Cleveland had cut the lead to 64-55 on a jumper by Mitchell to beat the buzzer.The Cavaliers got eight quick points from Merrill in the third quarter, and took a 69-68 lead their first of the game on a short jumper Jared Allen. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jared McCain and Joe gave the Thunder an 82-75 advantage. But Cleveland scored 11 of the next 14 points, and got a 3-pointer by Jaylon Tyson to tie the score 86-all.Oklahoma City got consecutive 3s from Lu Dort, Kenrich Williams and Wallace to build a 102-95 lead in the fourth. Back-to-back jumpers by Isaiah Hartenstein, who had 10 points in the quarter, gave the Thunder a 106-98 lead they never relinquished.Up nextCavaliers: Host New York on Tuesday.Thunder: Visit Toronto on Tuesday.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Merrill kept the Cavs alive but it wasn t enough.

Merrill started the second half of this game in place of Dean Wade, and the choice was a strong one. After scoring nine points in the first half, he had eight more in the first three minutes of the third quarter. Unfortunately, he only hit one more triple over the course of the rest of the game. This was likely a hot-hand situation, so Merrill should return to playing a role off the bench in Tuesday's game against the Knicks.

Merrill will come off the bench for Sunday's game in Oklahoma City.