Site Editor Zak Kolesar and contributor Chris Manning recently sat down with E.W. Scripps School of Journalism graduate assistant Molly Yanity, who recently traveled from Athens to Cleveland to see the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the video, Yanity talks about the game, Kyrie Irving, the atmosphere at Quicken Loans Arena, LeBron James conspiracy theories and much more. You can follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/mollyyanity or @mollyyanity.

Feb 2, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving (2) shoots against Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook (0) in the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Marreese Speights scored his first points of the fourth quarter with 9:47 remaining in the game. Including that shot, Speights went on to make six of his eight attempts in the final frame to account for 13 of his 21 points off the bench. His play and presence on the court ignited the Cavaliers, and Kyrie Irving soon joined the cast of fourth quarter standouts with less than three minutes remaining. From that point on he scored 13 of Cleveland’s final 15 points to help deliver his team the 115-110 victory over one of the best teams in the league.

Speights finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting 10-of-15 from the field. The former Memphis Grizzlies bench player saw time early on in the first quarter, but his level of play and energy reached peak levels with the game on the line. As for Kyrie, it was the same old song and dance with the game withering down in a back-and-forth battle. The All-Star finished with 35 points and made all eight of his free throw attempts. His counterpart – Russell Westbrook – played a very similar game, as the third-year All-Star scored 28 points. Irving, however, constantly burned Westbrook in the lane down the stretch and made a fool of the Thunder’s defense. Kevin Durant, who missed some time after leaving the court in the third quarter, finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds, but shot 8-of-21 from the field. That is uncommon for the reigning scoring champ, who is shooting 51.9 percent from the field on the season.

The bench play for the Cavaliers has been the key component to their success as of late, and that is in direct correlation with acquiring Speights and Wayne Ellington. Although Ellington only had five points off the bench, a crucial three in the fourth quarter sparked the Cleveland offense in the midst of a Speights rampage. C.J. Miles also contributed quite nicely for the Cavs, shooting 5-of-7 from the field with 16 points on the night.

Another thing that has been different with the Cavaliers ever since they dealt with the Grizzlies is their ability to spread the ball around. The Wine and Gold now feel inclined to convert after receiving a pass from a teammate. This is a true sign of team basketball, which is impressive for such a young team with new pieces. Cleveland finished with eight more assists (27) than the Thunder, with Shaun Livingston and Dion Waiters both finishing with six dimes apiece.

Durant got going late, and that could have ended up so much worse for the Cavaliers than it obviously did. Alonzo Gee did a superb job with keeping a wild scorer like Durant contained for most of the game, forcing him to shoot 1-of-5 from the field in the first quarter. He hasn’t been able to have much of an impact from an offensive standpoint lately, as he has averaged just 6.0 points over the last 10 games. But Gee’s defensive presence has not gone unnoticed, and this is just yet another instance of the Cavs coming together for the better of the team.

There are so many more examples of this happening as of late, but one more example in this game would have to be Tristan Thompson’s unselfish play. He doesn’t need to put up 18 points every night, but his effort on the boards this season has been relentless. His five offensive rebounds tied for a team-high with Tyler Zeller.

Cleveland will ride the wave of momentum from beating one of the best team’s in the NBA in a matchup with the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday at home. The game is set to tipoff at 7 p.m.

Feb 1, 2013; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons center Greg Monroe (10) grabs a rebound over Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Marreese Speights (15) during the second quarter at The Palace. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

After a disastrous matchup last night against the Detroit Pistons, the Cleveland Cavaliers (13-34) will look to redeem themselves at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder (35-11).

Last week the Cavs went on a three-game winning streak, which was their longest of the season. Now they have lost back-to-back games and it only appears to get worse as OKC comes thundering in.

Opponent’s Blog: Thunderous Intentions

Venue: Quicken Loans Arena – Cleveland, Ohio

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m.

Betting Line: Thunder by -10.5

Where you can watch: Fox Sports Ohio

Where you can listen: WTAM (1100 AM), WFUN (970 AM)

Head coach Byron Scott left all five of his starters on the bench in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s game.

Following Friday night’s game, Kyrie Irving said in a press conference that the team came out soft, and then played that way for the rest of the game. You can only hope Coach Scott sat them down in the locker room after the game and let them know that the performance they had on Friday is not acceptable.

OKC has the second-best record in the league, only behind the San Antonio Spurs. They are led by their two All-Stars: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook left everyone talking about his outburst in the Thunder’s last game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Westbrook is a three-time All-Star and will be matched up with first-time All-Star Kyrie Irving. Both players are competitors and play hard on every possession, so the matchup between the two should be entertaining to watch. Westbrook has gotten his assists up this season and is the only player in the league who is averaging 20 points and 8 assists.

If the Cavs want a chance to win this game they are going to have to play near-perfect basketball. The Thunder is first in the league in scoring with 105.7 points per game; the Cavs rank 26^th in the league allowing 101 points per game. Stopping Westbrook from penetrating in the paint will be on top of their game plan tonight. Not far behind that will be a plan to contain Kevin Durant, which will probably fail miserably.