The Cleveland Cavaliers (7-1) defeated the Utah Jazz (4-3) 118-114 on Tuesday night.
In a battle of two of the best defenses in the NBA, offense was at full force. Both teams shot right around 50 percent from the field and the Jazz failed to record a block for the first time all year. Utah did out-rebound and out-assist the Cavs while tallying 50 points in the paint, but that simply wasn’t enough to escape with a victory.
The Jazz put together quite the game on Tuesday, but fell just short in the waning seconds. They had six players who scored at least 15 points, but nobody who scored more than 24. Utah was led by Derrick Favors, who totaled 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals in the loss. He did however miss two crucial free-throws in the final 30 seconds that very well may have cost the Jazz a chance to win the game. Utah also got 24 points off the bench from Alec Burks, who is slowly making an early season run for sixth man of the year. In any case, this is a quality performance against some of the best competition in the league. The Jazz will take on the Chicago Bulls in their next game on Thursday in a battle of two of the best frontcourts in the NBA.
LeBron James was his typical self here, as he carried the load late to secure a victory for the Cavaliers. The former MVP tallied 31 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in the victory. The Cavs also got a great performance from Mo Williams who continues to fill-in admirably for the inured Kyrie Irving. He totaled 29 points, six rebounds and six assists in the win. J.R. Smith also made his return from a knee injury in this matchup and amassed seven points and three assists in 22 minutes of action. Cleveland's next match will come on Friday against the New York Knicks in a game where they'll surely be favored.
