Utah Jazz overpower the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-90
Utah Jazz just love to feast on the east.
The team which had just lost once in their last eleven games against the Eastern Conference added another feather to their cap on Monday night as they breezed past the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-90.
In a win that moved the Jazz coach Jerry Sloan into a tie with Miami Heat’s Pat Riley for the third-most wins in NBA history, C.J. Miles came off the bench to spearhead the Jazz attack.
He accounted for 22 points and 5 assists while Paul Millsap and Raja Bell chipped in with 19 apiece as Utah bid adieu to their mini-slump by winning back-to-back games for the first time in more than two weeks.
The Wine and Gold on the other hand put another spirited performance after recently putting a halt to their ten match losing skid but they were simply no match for a team of Utah’s caliber.
Even though the Jazz had all the momentum and confidence going into the match, the team from Salt Lake City didn’t make it easy for themselves to start the proceedings. Deron Williams had three turnovers in the first six minutes
of play as Cleveland raced to a 16-9 advantage midway through the first quarter.
The Jazz however got a hold of the situation and showcased some offensive firepower of their own as they reeled off a 15-4 spurt to finish the first quarter at 24-20.
The Jazz continued with their signature up-tempo style of play in the second quarter as Al Jefferson marshaled them to an 8-point unanswered run midway in the period to make it 42-33.
The Cavaliers however sprung back with a bang, nailing three triple pointers within a space of two minutes accompanied by layup shot from Anderson Varejao to make it all square at 44.
Jazz though had the last laugh as they finished the first half on a high, scoring five points on a trot in the last two minutes, to take a 49-44 advantage into the break.
The Jazz led by Deron Williams and Paul Millsap increased their intensity in the second half. They continued to push the ball deep into the Cavaliers court and raced on to a 64-54 advantage in the 7th minute of the third
quarter. The only thing keeping the Cavaliers going on the night though was Daniel Gibson’s shooting from downtown and he ripped in two of his seven to pull with four with 4:20 left in the quarter.
The Jazz however were simply unstoppable as they rocked to another 12-4 surge to knock the steam out of the Cavaliers’ ranks and headed to the final quarter with a 76-64 advantage.
The fun was only beginning for the Jazz as they converted their lead into a romp at 90-70 within the first four minutes of the final quarter. With all hopes of a revival quashed, the Cavaliers played for pride as Daniel Gibson
continued his impressive onslaught from beyond the line to spark a 13-3 run.
All this effort though, only ensured that the Cavs came within a 10 point range and that was the closest they got as the Jazz rolled on for a 101-90 win.
Daniel Gibson led the charge for the Cavaliers with a career-high 29 points with an 8 for 15 shooting from the field and 7 of 8 from downtown. Four other Clevelanders also managed double figures but it was not enough to prevent
their franchise from losing their 11th of the last twelve games.
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