Cleveland Cavaliers @ Utah Jazz
Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at 9:00 PM ET
Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT | Game ID: 22301100
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
UTA 25 22 34 32 113CLE 40 27 30 32 129
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Caris LeVert scores 26, leads Cavaliers to 129-113 victory over Jazz
SALT LAKE CITY -- — Caris LeVert scored 26 points and Jarrett Allen had 21 points and 12 rebounds, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Utah Jazz 129-113 on Tuesday night.
LeVert started in place of Donovan Mitchell , who missed Tuesday’s game due to injury management. Evan Mobley added 21 points for the Cavs, and reserve Sam Merrill had 18 points on six 3-pointers.
Cleveland had 38 assists on 46 baskets and shot 54% from the field.
“We try to take the play that’s there and we have enough talent on this team that if we just make the simple play, defenses are going to have to make tough choices,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.
The Cavaliers also scored 26 points off 20 Jazz turnovers while leading wire to wire. They stopped a four-game road losing streak.
“This was one of those nights where it felt like we played our type of basketball,” Allen said. “The ball was moving. We were talking on defense.”
Brice Sensabaugh made six 3-pointers and scored 22 points for Utah, matching his season high in his rookie year.
“I think it was just a matter of time before I started getting my rhythm,” Sensabaugh said. “I struggled for a while ... but the rim is opening up for me.”
Collin Sexton had 19 points and six assists, and Taylor Hendricks added 18 points.
The Jazz played without starters Lauri Markkanen and John Collins in their 10th consecutive loss. Reserve center Walker Kessler was held out in the second half after suffering a nasal fracture.
Cleveland made its first seven shots from the field while surging to a 23-9 lead midway through the first quarter. The Cavaliers shot 68% from the field and totaled 40 points during the quarter while repeatedly getting open looks from the perimeter and at the rim. They had 13 assists on 15 field goals during that stretch.
“We wanted to send a message from the beginning of the game,” Allen said. “We wanted to get back to what we know is how we play basketball and that’s what the first quarter was.”
Besides playing lackadaisical defense, the Jazz also committed seven first-quarter turnovers.
“We’ve got to play with more force when we have the ball in our hands,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “You can’t expect anybody to get out of the way. We should expect to get bumped and hit a little bit.”
Cleveland extended its lead to 45-29 on Darius Garland’s 3-pointer before Utah clawed back into the game. Omer Yurtseven capped an 11-2 run with a three-point play that cut the deficit to 50-45.
Allen and Mobley combined for three dunks to push the lead back to double digits and spark a 17-2 run that put the Cavaliers up 67-47 at halftime.
“I thought our energy level was high and that’s what we talked about with the guys, making sure a young team didn’t come and outcompete us and outwork us,” Bickerstaff said.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECL C. LeVert
DG D. Garland
DJ D. Jones
EM E. Mobley
GN G. Niang
JA J. Allen
MM M. Morris Sr.
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
TT T. Thompson
UTABS B. Sensabaugh
CS C. Sexton
KD K. Dunn
KG K. George
KL K. Lewis Jr.
LS L. Samanic
OY O. Yurtseven
TH T. Hendricks
TH T. Horton-Tucker
WK W. Kessler
CLE/UTA the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur