Utah Jazz Fall Just Short Of Upsetting Cavaliers In Cleveland

CLEVELAND – The Utah Jazz fought hard from the tip to the final buzzer but fell just short against the Cavaliers in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Monday.

Cleveland has been one of the most dominant teams in the association to start this season. After winning their first 15 games, they have won 10 of their last 14 and still have the best record in the NBA.

The Jazz gave them a good fight for 48 minutes. The first half was extremely close. Cleveland pulled away a bit in the third but Utah came storming back in the fourth.

Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton combined for 50 points against their former team.

heading home. pic.twitter.com/Jk1YugHDaB

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 24, 2024

Jazz Keep It Close With Cavaliers

First Quarter

With the Cavaliers having four wins in their last five games and a near perfect home record, it appeared the Jazz would have a mountain to climb to extend their win streak to three games.

However, the first quarter didn’t play out that way.

couple quick threes for the fella from Finland 🇫🇮 pic.twitter.com/eq7hXQy4TY

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 24, 2024

The Cavs started strong but then the Jazz came storming back to take the lead.

All five Utah starters got on the board relatively quickly. Lauri Markkanen led the way in the first with eight points and five rebounds.

The key for Utah was strong perimeter defense. Donovan Mitchell was held scoreless for the first 11 minutes of action.

Then, in the final minute, the former Jazzman drained back-to-back threes to put Cleveland up by two.

The Jazz trailed 29-27 going into the second quarter.

Second Quarter

Once again, the second quarter was close but Cleveland ended up having the slight advantage.

Svi Mykhailiuk led the team in scoring in the second with seven.

Utah shot an impressive 50 percent from deep in the quarter but was matched with similar efficiency from the Cavs.

when bull beats the buzzer>>> pic.twitter.com/YiRC1bPgkH

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 24, 2024

Cleveland point guard Darius Garland scored nine in the second on 3/4 shooting.

Once again, the Cavaliers won the quarter by two points and led by four, 60-56, at the break.

Third Quarter

After halftime is when things started to go downhill for the Jazz.

Instead of keeping it even like they did pretty well in the fist half, it started to lean towards two Cavs buckets for every one from Utah.

Through four minutes, Cleveland increased its lead to double digits.

the most peaceful finish to a fast break 👀🧘‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/v12TBuCBgN

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 24, 2024

Then the Jazz caught a second wind.

Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton started dropping in basket after basket. By the start of the third quarter, Markkanen, Sexton, and Clarkson all had 22 points.

However, the intensity was matched by the Cavs. Specifically, Sam Merrill.

The former USU Aggie scored 14 points in the third quarter and helped he Cavs go into the fourth with an 11-point lead, 99-88.

Fourth Quarter

The stride that the Jazz hit later in the third carried into the final quarter.

Utah outscored Cleveland 16-10 through the first six minutes of the quarter and trailed by just five.

Other than one three from Johnny Juzang, Utah’s three leading scorers were the only ones to find the bottom of the net in the fourth.

tough bucket 2️⃣!!!

down three, 1:35 on the clock 👀 pic.twitter.com/OPbh8OdlA6

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 24, 2024

Usually that is a recipe for disaster. However, it worked in Cleveland and the Jazz found themselves trailing by five with three minutes left.

In the final minutes, Utah closed it to three multiple times but the Cavaliers were quick with a response.

The Jazz remained in striking distance for the entirety of the fourth until the final minute. A late 6-0 run from the Cavs put them up by nine with 40 seconds left.

Utah went on to have its first win streak of the season snapped by the Cavaliers, 124-113.

Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on X for Utah Jazz and Locals In The NFL updates.

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