Jefferson, Hayward lead Jazz past Cavs, 109-100


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CLEVELAND (AP) - Al Jefferson scored 25 points, Gordon Hayward added 23, and the Utah Jazz beat Cleveland 109-100 on Monday night, sending the Cavaliers to their sixth straight loss.

Utah snapped a six-game road losing streak with only its fourth victory away from home in 17 games.

Rookie Kyrie Irving led Cleveland with 22 points - 21 in the second half. He scored 13 points in the third quarter.

Jefferson was 9 for 16 from the field and had 13 rebounds.

Hayward started Utah's first 36 games, but was benched in favor of Raja Bell, who returned after missing six games with strained left adductor. Hayward responded by going 8 for 11 from the field.

Utah point guard Devin Harris sustained a sprained right knee in the third quarter and didn't return.

Utah led by 17 points late in the second quarter and was still ahead 85-70 in the final seconds of the third period. The Jazz were ahead by double figures for most of the fourth quarter until Cleveland closed the lead to 105- 100 on Alonzo Gee's with 48 seconds remaining.

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Utah didn't covert on its next possession, but Ryan Hollins missed two free throws with 12.5 seconds remaining. The Jazz put the game away at the foul line.

Utah finished the first half with a 22-8 run to take a 56- 41 lead into the locker room. Leading 34-33, the Jazz scored 10 straight points and took control in the final 8:46 of the period. Josh Howard scored six points, while Hayward and Earl Watson hit 3-pointers.

Cleveland was 3 for 16 from the field in the quarter. The final basket came on Gee's 3-pointer with 4:36 remaining.

Irving didn't score until he hit a free throw on a technical foul with 1:31 remaining in the second quarter. He missed all six of his field goal attempts. Irving's first basket came on a jumper at the 11:01 mark of the third quarter. He was back in the starting lineup for Saturday's 101-98 loss in Washington and finished with 20 points and six assists a day after resting with an illness.

The Cavaliers have lost four straight at home.

The Jazz hadn't won on the road since a 98-88 victory over Memphis on Feb. 12. Utah hasn't dropped seven consecutive road contests since Dec. 4-19, 2007.

Bell scored two points in 21 minutes in his first game since Feb. 19.

NOTES: Cleveland visits Denver on Wednesday and Oklahoma City on Friday. Six of the next nine games are on the road. ... Hollins and Gee made their second straight starts after coach Byron Scott shook up his lineup Saturday. C Semih Erden didn't play for the second straight game.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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