The Utah Jazz started slow, losing the first quarter to the Cleveland Cavaliers 29-19, but then won the next three quarters(26-23) (23-20) and (31-26) and escaped a missed 37 footer by Cavs Sasha Pavlovic to hold onto a 99-98 win at home.
Our man LeBron James scored 23 points, in 42 minutes of play shooting 9 of 25 from the field, knocking down 5 of 9 from the free throw line, while also grabbing 10 rebounds, and recording 4 assists. Larry Hughes also helped out the Cavs, who were missing center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who did not travel with the team due to personal matters, Hughes had 33 points on 10-19 shooting, including a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line.
The Jazz were led by former University of Illinois star DeRon Williams, who is continuing his sizzling sophomore season, by scoring 33 points on 14 of 23 shooting, and also recording 12 assists and 6 rebounds. Mehmet Okur also added 22 for the Jazz who improved to 35-17, while the Cavs fell to 30-22.
The Cavs will now take on the Lakers in LA on Thursday night before taking a week off for the All Star break. www.clublebron.com wishes LeBron James and the Cavs good luck in LA!