Deron Williams stars as the Jazz overpower the Cavaliers 121-99
There seems to be nothing that can pluck the woeful Cleveland Cavaliers from their quagmire of problems.
Hit hard by a spate of injuries to key players and coming off the back of worst performance ever in the franchise history - a 112-57 rout against the ruthless Los Angeles Lakers - the Wine and Gold took on the sizzling Utah Jazz on Friday night.
The story though was not different from what it has been in the last 17 away games; Cleveland lost again.
While a lot of fuss is being created in Cleveland about LeBron James’ infamous ‘Karma’ comment, on the court, the Cavs have got nothing to show. The free falling Cavs have now dropped a dozen games straight, with only a mid-December overtime win over New
York separating them from a 23-game losing streak.
The red hot Utah Jazz on the contrary, came into the match after pulling off a resurgent 103-99 win over the Houston Rockets in overtime. Their confidence was evident on court, as they showed no empathy towards the Cavs and sent them reeling 121-99 in Salt
Lake City.
All of the Utah starters romped into the double figures with Deron Williams leading the charge with 26 points and nine assists. Al Jefferson, Raja Bell and Andrei Kirilenko all chipped in with 15 each, Paul Millsap had 11 while C.J. Miles came off the bench
to score 20 points and two blocks.
For the depleted Cavaliers, Antawn Jamison once again spearheaded the offence. He scored 26 points, shooting 10-of-19 from the floor and 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, along with 11 rebounds.
J.J. Hickson scored 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavs, but accounted for nine of the total 21 Cleveland rebounds, while Mo Williams also snatched a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists.
The Jazz got off to a rollicking start. After Mo Williams netted one from the long-range to put the Cavs ahead in the first minute, the Jazz rattled an 8-point unanswered spurt to burst into the lead; one that they held on to for the entire match.
The Cavaliers however seemed determined to put a fight in the first half. Despite a vociferous offensive display by the Jazz, they still had enough firepower to remain in hunt at 25-31 going into the second quarter.
Deron Williams was unstoppable in the first quarter. He scored 13 points including all of Utah’s 10 points in the last two and a half minutes, while Raja Bell finished with 10 for the frame.
The fun was only beginning for the Jazz though.
After showcasing an upbeat offensive effort in the first 12 minutes, the men from Utah simply went berserk in the second stanza. The home team reeled off a 14-0 run early in the period to wrest the initiative, and then followed it with a 9-5 spurt midway
to take a 20-point lead.
The Jazz shot at a scorching 61.7 percent from the field in the first half and ended the half at 70-50, the most points they have notched up in a half, all season. They however, went cold at the start of the third quarter.
After a rough outing in the first half, the young Cavaliers settled into their groove early in the second half. All of a sudden the Cavs shot more than they missed as they gradually started to chip away at the Jazz lead. The Cavaliers surge saw them pull
within striking distance at 89-83 with over two minutes left in the third.
However, that was the closest they got to the Jazz on the night as the home team sprinted to a 19-4 run, bridging the third and the four and a half minutes of the final quarter, to take a 108-87 lead.
It was all Utah after that as they breezed to 121-99 win.
Utah had an excellent all round game. They shot 52.8 percent from the field, 52.6 percent from downtown and had a whooping 32 assists in the match.
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