Jarrett Allen had 13 of his 21 points during a 40-point first quarter, Caris LeVert led a balanced attack with 26 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers ran off from the Utah Jazz for a 129-113 victory on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.
Evan Mobley also totaled 21 points, Sam Merrill enjoyed a homecoming with 18 and Max Strus went for 15 as the Cavaliers (46-30) overcame the absence of Donovan Mitchell (left knee injury management).
Brice Sensabaugh had a season-high-tying 22 points and Collin Sexton chipped in 19 to pace the Jazz (29-47), who lost their 10th straight.
Looking to get even on a five-game road trip after losing the opener to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, the Cavaliers sprinted out to a 15-point lead, 40-25, after 12 minutes. Allen, Mobley (10 points) and LeVert (eight) combined for 31 of the 40 points.
Cleveland went on to lead 67-47 at halftime before keeping the hosts at arm’s length throughout the second half.
Merrill, who grew up in Bountiful, Utah, and starred at Utah State, became the story of the night by game’s end, hitting six 3-pointers in 12 attempts en route to matching the fifth-highest point total of his four-season career. He was playing at Utah for the first time in his pro career.
The Cavaliers wound up 16-for-39 on 3-pointers and shot 54.1 percent overall.
Allen completed a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds for Cleveland, while Darius Garland notched a game-high eight assists to go with eight points.
Sensabaugh’s team-high point total came in large part on 6-for-9 shooting from deep. The Jazz played the Cavaliers evenly from beyond the arc, also making 16 threes in two fewer attempts.
Sensabaugh also led the Jazz in rebounds with seven, while Sexton was the club’s top assist man with seven.
Like his fellow rookie teammate, Taylor Hendricks matched his season high with 18 points for Utah, while Luka Samanic and Talen Horton-Tucker added 12 apiece and Omer Yurtseven posted 11.
Utah, which shot 48.2 percent from the field, hasn’t won since March 15 against the Atlanta Hawks.
–Field Level Media
