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Jefferson leads Jazz over Cavs

Mar 6, 2012 - 5:38 AM Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Al Jefferson had 25 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, as the Utah Jazz snapped a six-game road skid with a 109-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Gordon Hayward added 23 points and five assists off the bench for the Jazz, who won on the road for the first time since February 12 at Memphis. Josh Howard and Paul Millsap donated 14 and 13 points, respectively.

"We just have to take it one game at a time and just play like we did tonight," Jefferson said. "We slacked off a little bit toward the end, but we got the win. That's all that matters."

Kyrie Irving and Antawn Jamison each had 22 points for the Cavaliers, who have lost six in a row. Alonzo Gee and Ramon Sessions tallied 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Down by 17, 100-83, with 5:32 to play, Cleveland went on a 17-5 run to make things interesting. Irving tallied eight points during the burst that Gee capped with a slam, making it a 105-100 game with 49.9 seconds to go.

The Cavaliers had a chance to cut into their deficit even more after Earl Watson missed a three-pointer. But Ryan Hollins missed two free throws with 12.5 ticks left on the clock.

Hayward and Jefferson each made two free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory.

"I think we all came out lackadaisical in the beginning and I'm not surprised that we lost the game," Irving said. "We came out lackadaisical and in the last five minutes we started to fight, but that's not going to get it done."

The Jazz led by as many as seven in the first quarter and took a 28-26 edge into the second.

Utah created some distance early in the second. Ahead by one, 34-33, with 8:46 to go, the visitors went on a 10-0 run. Hayward and Watson each made three- pointers during the burst to help the Jazz build a 44-33 margin.

The lead reached 17, 56-39, on Devin Harris' free throw with 50.1 seconds remaining. Omri Casspi and Jamison both made a foul shot to cut the gap to 56-41 at the break.

Cleveland outscored Utah by a 31-29 margin in the third stanza to cut its deficit to 85-72.

Game Notes

The Jazz have won five straight matchups against the Cavaliers...Utah shot 50 percent from the field and went 24-of-29 from the foul line...Cleveland shot 45.7 percent from the floor, but made only 3-of-16 shots in the second quarter...Utah guard Raja Bell had two points in his return to the lineup after missing six games with a strained left adductor...The Jazz improved to 4-13 as the visitor this season...Cleveland has lost four straight at home.