Scrappy Shorthanded Cavs Fall to Jazz

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The Cavaliers picked a rough night to be missing two of their top bigs and starting point guard.

The Wine & Gold played just seven guys for most of the evening – down Andre Drummond, Tristan Thompson and Darius Garland – and couldn’t keep up with the Jazz, dropping the 126-113 decision on Monday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

With Utah beginning a four-game road trip and the Cavaliers in the midst of their five-game homestand, the Cavaliers hung tough with the playoff-bound Jazz for most of the night. But Quinn Snyder’s squad was at full strength, canned 20 triples, shot 56 percent on the night and simply overwhelmed Cleveland, which dropped their third straight.

Sloppy defensive finishes to the first and second quarter put the Cavs behind, and after staying within striking distance throughout the third, trailed by double-figures throughout the entire final period.

Two games removed from tying his career-high scoring mark against the Pelicans, Collin Sexton was even better on Monday – netting a career-best 32 points, going 11-for-17 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from long-range and 6-of-8 from the stripe, adding five boards, three assists and a game-high three steals.

Kevin Love followed up with 22 points on 7-for-15 shooting, going 6-of-11 from beyond the arc to go with a team-high nine boards and two assists in the loss.

Kevin Porter Jr., getting his third career start, finished with 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting, adding four boards, four assists, a steal and blocked shot. Larry Nance Jr., who also moved up into the starting lineup, added 16 points of his own, adding eight boards, eight helpers and a pair of steals.

Cedi Osman was the only other Cavalier in double-figures – chipping in with 14 points, five boards and a steal.

With the Cavaliers thinned out, Utah’s reserves outscored Cleveland’s 32-11, although Matthew Dellavedova did manage to lead both squads in assists, handing out a season-high-tying nine dimes in 29 minutes of work off the bench.

Bojan Bogdanovic led the Jazz with 28 points, canning five of Utah’s 20 three-pointers, while the two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, added 20 points and a game-high five blocked shots in the win.

In his first game back as a member of the Jazz after a Christmas time trade, former Cavalier Jordan Clarkson – who got a nice ovation when he checked in late in the first quarter – finished with 13 points off the bench, going 3-of-4 from three-point range.

The Cavaliers got the game started with a bang! The first points of the contest were scored via an ally-oop in which Cedi Osman lobbed to Kevin Porter Jr. who threw it down with two hands.

Closing quarters is essential in the NBA, and on Monday night the Jazz wrapped up the first two periods perfectly.

The Cavaliers hung with the heavyweight Jazz through the first quarter, taking a one-point lead on Delly’s floater with 2:20 to play in the period before Utah ran off seven straight points to jump back in front.

The story was similar in the second – where Cleveland was actually able to take a six-point lead midway through the period. With 2:43 to play in the first half, the game was tied. But the Jazz proceeded to close the half on a 12-2 run – putting the Cavaliers behind double-figures, where they remained for most of the second stanza.

26.8, .551, .591 … Collin Sexton’s scoring average – along with his shooting percentage from the floor and from beyond the arc – over his last four games.

Dating back to December 23, the Young Bull has posted 19 games of 20 points or more and three 30-point efforts – averaging 22.6ppg on .478 shooting from the floor and .452 from deep over that 32-game stretch.

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, on his team’s effort on Monday night …

"We tried to press a little bit and to our guys credit we were getting after it and we were trying. There were moments when we tried to do too much because everybody was trying to do a little bit more. We were playing against a good team so if we make mistakes, they are good enough to make you pay, especially the way they shoot the ball from three."

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and 87.7 La Mega's Rafa Hernandez-Brito.

The Wine & Gold’s longest remaining homestand of the season rolls on, with Jayson Tatum and the red-hot Boston Celtics making their final visit to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday night.

Cleveland closes out the five-game stay with a weekend back-to-back – welcoming in Mike Malone’s Nuggets on Saturday night followed by a visit from the Spurs on Sunday.

From there, the Cavaliers hit the road for much of the remainder of the season – playing 14 of their final 19 games away from Cleveland.