Irving, Cavs use late surge to beat Jazz
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kyrie Irving scored 11 of his team-high 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Cleveland Cavaliers edged the Utah Jazz, 104-101, at Quicken Loans Arena.
Irving, who also had 10 assists and seven rebounds, came up with a pivotal steal that led to Wayne Ellington's go-ahead slam with 56.4 seconds left.
Ellington finished with 16 points and six rebounds and rookie Tristan Thompson chipped in with 16 points and 12 boards for the Cavs, who have won five of their last eight games.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We got lucky. That was a gift, basically," Cleveland head coach Byron Scott said. "With 15 minutes left, I told them, 'Right now, you're showing no interest in this game. You better start playing because you've still got a chance to win.'"
Gordon Hayward poured in a game-high 25 points off the bench for the Jazz, who got 17 points and seven rebounds from Enes Kanter.
Paul Millsap scored 16 points and pulled down eight boards in the setback.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hayward's runner gave the Jazz a 93-85 lead with just over 4 1/2 minutes left, but Irving caught fire from there.
Irving canned a trey to make it a five point game, but Utah responded with a 7-4 swing to go up 100-92 at the 2:46 mark. The Cavs answered with a 9-1 surge to pull the hosts within one with just over a minute to go.
Irving provided all nine points on the run, including an acrobatic three-point play to highlight the flurry. He drove in from the right wing and twisted to the left in midair to avoid a defender before knocking down a tough layup as he was fouled.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Following Irving's subsequent free throw, Hayward quickly pushed the ball up court, but was quickly met by Irving and Ellington. Ellington funneled Hayward toward Irving, who stole the ball and found his backcourt mate streaking down the right sideline for a ferocious slam to give Cleveland a 102-101 lead.
After the teams traded empty possessions, Williams drove to the hoop and layed one up, but the ball rolled off the rim and the Jazz were forced to foul Ellington, who knocked down a pair from the charity stripe with 2.8 ticks showing.
"That was amazing. I don't think I've ever missed a layup, even in practice," Williams said. "I've shot a trillion layups in my life. I've never missed one like that, the way it went in and came out. It was a normal layup. I'm dumbfounded."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Williams' trey from the corner with 1.0 second left was no good.
The Cavs closed the first frame on a 7-4 swing to take a 23-19 lead into the second quarter. Cleveland stretched its lead to 27-20 in the opening minutes of the stanza, but the Jazz used a 14-7 swing to tie the game at 34-34 before taking a 51-49 lead into the break.
Utah led by as many as 14 in the third, but Cleveland managed to cut it to 76-68 entering the final frame.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
The Cavs snapped a six-game losing streak with Utah ... Cleveland forward Marresse Speights scored 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds -- six offensive -- in the win ... The Jazz allowed 17 points off 15 turnovers.