Recap: Cleveland vs. Utah
Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyrie Irving recorded his first career triple-double with 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-79 win over the Utah Jazz at Quicken Loans Arena.
Tristan Thompson deposited an 18-point, 14-rebound double-double, while Spencer Hawes scored 13 points and pulled down 16 boards for the Cavs, who have won two straight overall and three straight against Utah.
Gordon Hayward paced Utah with 18 points, Richard Jefferson chipped in 13, and Alec Burks added 11 in the loss. The Jazz had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Hawes hit a jumper to open the scoring in the contest, but Utah ripped off 10 straight with Jefferson capping the spurt with a 3.
Utah stretched its lead to nine, 21-12, late in the frame and the Jazz led by seven entering the second.
An 11-4 run from Cleveland to open the second stanza tied the game at 31-31, as Tyler Zeller scored the final four points, including a dunk with just over 8 1/2 minutes left.
Both teams couldn't muster much offense for the remainder of the quarter. Burks knocked down a 3 to break the tie and end over two minutes of scoreless basketball and a pair of Hayward free throws broke another deadlock later to give the Jazz a 41-39 lead at the break.
Irving scored nine points during an 18-3 run that staked the Cavs to a 63-51 lead with 4 1/2 minutes left in the third. Utah trimmed the deficit to seven, but Alonzo Gee buried a corner jumper as time expired. Cleveland led 69-60 entering the fourth.
Cleveland continued to extend its lead with Hawes hitting a 3 after four straight from Irving to open the fourth.
Cleveland led by as many as 23 in the fourth and stifled the Jazz to just 13- of-41 shooting in the second half.