Al Jefferson continues to ride hot as Utah Jazz thump Cleveland Cavaliers 109 – 100: NBA Recap
On Monday night, Utah Jazz stepped inside the Quicken Loans Arena determined to avoid their 7th consecutive loss on the road, facing Cleveland Cavaliers.
The task in hand was taken down as they used a first half advantage to edge out the Cavs 109-100. Jazz had 4 players in double figures with Al Jefferson leading the way. The centre tallied a game high 25 points, 13 boards and 7 assists, while Gordon Hayward posted 23 points coming off the bench.
Josh Howard chipped in with 14 points and Paul Millsap netted 13 and had 9 boards. Al Jefferson was contended with the outcome.
"This was a game we knew we had to win in order to stay in the playoff hunt. Now, we need to keep playing like we played tonight. Our defence was great and we moved the ball really well, but it is only one game."
Cavs also had 4 players in the mix, with Antawn Jamison and rookie Kyrie Irving scoring team high 22. Forward Alonzo Gee chipped in with 15 and Ramon Sessions netted 14 coming off the bench.
Cavs forward Tristan Thompson who had 3 points in the game, conceded that the better team won. "They just had the will. They outworked us, definitely. We came out going through the motions, and to win a basketball game, you've got to come out for 48 minutes and play hard."
Jazz claimed the lead early in the opening frame; 14-9 midway through the 1st period, but Cavs brushed that aside and tied the score at 18 each with a 9-2 run. The game remained highly contested afterwards but Utah managed to conclude the segment with a slender 28-26 lead.
In the second quarter, with 8:34 in hand, Jazz shifted gears and raced off to a 16-3 run that left the hosts miles away, 50-36. They capped off the segment after augmenting their lead to 56-41. Cavs remained scoreless for 5 minutes and 35 seconds in the 2nd period and their coach Byron Scott was disappointed.
"At the beginning of the game, we were just so-so, but the second quarter was even worse.” He said post game.
Cavs inched back with a 10-4 run in the 3rd frame and reduced the double digit deficit to 51-60 with 08:59 in hand. The rest of stanza didn’t see too much change and the visitors managed to enter into the last 12 minutes of the game holding on to a 85-72 lead.
Deep into the final stanza, with 03:35 left on the clock, Cavs reeled off an 11-2 run and reduced the gap to 104-98, but failed to score any point in the last 48 seconds.
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