CLEVELAND -- — Darius Garland scored 23 points and the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Utah Jazz 124-113 on Monday night for their 17th victory in 18 home games.

Evan Mobley had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell also scored 22 points, Sam Merrill scored a season-high 20 and Garland had eight assists for Cleveland. The Cavaliers (26-4) have won five straight by an average margin of 20 points.

Jordan Clarkson scored 27 points off the bench for the Jazz, while Lauri Markkanen had 26 and Collin Sexton had 24. Utah traded Mitchell to Cleveland in exchange for Markkanen, Sexton and multiple draft picks on Sept. 1, 2022.

The start of the game was delayed 35 minutes because of a broken rim that forced the replacement of one of the hoops and a stanchion.

Takeaways

Jazz: Center Walker Kessler dominated the glass with 16 rebounds, eight of them offensive, but went 1 of 6 on free throws in the final four minutes as Cleveland intentionally sent him to the line. Kessler is shooting 53.6% from the stripe.

Cavaliers: Merrill made his second start of the season at small forward, draining six 3-pointers in 11 attempts. The Utah State product scored 14 points in the first eight minutes of the third, giving Cleveland its initial double-digit lead.

Key moment

Georges Niang scored on a backdoor layup with 52 seconds left, then stripped the ball from Clarkson and fed Caris LeVert for a dunk on the other end to push Cleveland’s lead to 122-113.

Key stat

Sexton, who spent his first four seasons with Cleveland, has the fifth-highest scoring average in Cavaliers history at 20.0 points, behind LeBron James (27.2), Mitchell (26.7), World B. Free (23.0) and Kyrie Irving (21.6).

Up next

The Jazz wrap up their five-game trip Thursday at Portland. The Cavaliers play at Denver on Friday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Walker Kessler vs. Jarrett Allen (Evan Mobley gains possession)	0	0
11:40	Jarrett Allen misses dunk	0	0
11:38	Lauri Markkanen defensive rebound	0	0
11:32	Micah Potter makes 23-foot three point jumper (Lauri Markkanen assists)	0	3
11:20	Evan Mobley misses 25-foot three point jumper	0	3
11:17	Micah Potter defensive rebound	0	3
11:06	Svi Mykhailiuk bad pass (Sam Merrill steals)	0	3
11:05	Darius Garland makes two point shot (Sam Merrill assists)	2	3
11:05	Collin Sexton shooting foul	2	3
11:05	Darius Garland makes free throw 1 of 1	3	3
10:48	Walker Kessler misses 24-foot three point jumper	3	3
10:45	Micah Potter offensive rebound	3	3
10:44	Lauri Markkanen misses 26-foot three point jumper	3	3
10:42	Cavaliers defensive team rebound	3	3
10:24	Walker Kessler blocks Jarrett Allen's layup	3	3
10:24	Jarrett Allen offensive rebound	3	3
10:23	Jarrett Allen misses two point shot	3	3
10:22	Evan Mobley offensive rebound	3	3
10:22	Evan Mobley makes dunk	5	3
10:05	Collin Sexton bad pass (Donovan Mitchell steals)	5	3
10:00	Sam Merrill misses 25-foot three point shot	5	3
9:58	Micah Potter defensive rebound	5	3
9:53	Evan Mobley blocks Collin Sexton 's 18-foot running pullup jump shot	5	3
9:51	Evan Mobley defensive rebound	5	3
9:47	Evan Mobley makes 1-foot dunk	7	3
9:31	Lauri Markkanen misses 7-foot hook shot	7	3
9:28	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	7	3
9:22	Donovan Mitchell misses 22-foot pullup jump shot	7	3
9:17	Walker Kessler defensive rebound	7	3
9:10	Micah Potter misses 23-foot three point jumper	7	3
9:07	Walker Kessler offensive rebound	7	3
9:00	Lauri Markkanen misses 30-foot three point jumper	7	3
8:57	Evan Mobley defensive rebound	7	3
8:50	Evan Mobley misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	7	3
8:46	Micah Potter defensive rebound	7	3
8:31	Micah Potter misses 23-foot three point jumper	7	3
8:27	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	7	3
8:21	Darius Garland misses running pullup jump shot	7	3
8:18	Svi Mykhailiuk defensive rebound	7	3
8:01	Svi Mykhailiuk makes 25-foot three point jumper (Collin Sexton assists)	7	6
7:45	Evan Mobley makes 1-foot hook shot (Donovan Mitchell assists)	9	6
7:16	Svi Mykhailiuk misses 30-foot three point pullup jump shot	9	6
7:13	Evan Mobley defensive rebound	9	6
7:07	Donovan Mitchell misses 23-foot three point jumper	9	6
7:05	Sam Merrill offensive rebound	9	6
7:00	Darius Garland makes 24-foot three pointer	12	6
6:41	Svi Mykhailiuk misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	12	6
6:40	Jazz offensive team rebound	12	6
6:40	Cavaliers Full timeout	12	6
6:40	Max Strus enters the game for Evan Mobley	12	6
6:40	Caris LeVert enters the game for Donovan Mitchell	12	6
6:40	Isaiah Collier enters the game for Micah Potter	12	6
6:40	Jordan Clarkson enters the game for Collin Sexton	12	6
6:28	Sam Merrill shooting foul	12	6
6:28	Jordan Clarkson makes free throw 1 of 2	12	7
6:28	Jordan Clarkson makes free throw 2 of 2	12	8
6:12	Darius Garland bad pass (Svi Mykhailiuk steals)	12	8
6:09	Isaiah Collier steps out of bounds turnover	12	8
5:57	Jarrett Allen out of bounds bad pass turnover	12	8
5:33	Lauri Markkanen misses 23-foot three point step back jumpshot	12	8
5:29	Lauri Markkanen offensive rebound	12	8
5:27	Lauri Markkanen misses 1-foot jump bank shot	12	8
5:22	Lauri Markkanen offensive rebound	12	8
5:22	Lauri Markkanen makes tip shot	12	10
5:13	Caris LeVert makes driving layup	14	10
5:05	Lauri Markkanen makes 30-foot three point jumper (Isaiah Collier assists)	14	13
4:45	Walker Kessler shooting foul	14	13
4:45	Caris LeVert misses free throw 1 of 3	14	13
4:45	Cavaliers offensive team rebound	14	13
4:45	Caris LeVert makes free throw 2 of 3	15	13
4:45	Georges Niang enters the game for Sam Merrill	15	13
4:45	Caris LeVert makes free throw 3 of 3	16	13
4:25	Jordan Clarkson misses two point shot	16	13
4:23	Walker Kessler offensive rebound	16	13
4:21	Walker Kessler makes two point shot	16	15
4:12	Max Strus misses 23-foot three point jumper	16	15
4:12	Lauri Markkanen defensive rebound	16	15
4:04	Jordan Clarkson misses running pullup jump shot	16	15
3:59	Isaiah Collier offensive rebound	16	15
3:57	Lauri Markkanen makes 27-foot three point jumper (Isaiah Collier assists)	16	18
3:37	Caris LeVert makes 23-foot three point jumper (Darius Garland assists)	19	18
3:31	Georges Niang personal foul	19	18
3:31	Collin Sexton enters the game for Svi Mykhailiuk	19	18
3:27	Caris LeVert personal foul	19	18
3:12	Lauri Markkanen misses 25-foot three point jumper	19	18
3:09	Georges Niang defensive rebound	19	18
3:02	Jarrett Allen misses layup	19	18
2:58	Lauri Markkanen defensive rebound	19	18
2:53	Collin Sexton misses running pullup jump shot	19	18
2:52	Walker Kessler offensive rebound	19	18
2:49	Lauri Markkanen misses 23-foot three point jumper	19	18
2:43	Collin Sexton offensive rebound	19	18
2:35	Walker Kessler makes alley oop dunk shot (Isaiah Collier assists)	19	20
2:24	Darius Garland makes driving layup	21	20
2:24	Jazz Full timeout	21	20
2:24	Evan Mobley enters the game for Darius Garland	21	20
2:24	Donovan Mitchell enters the game for Jarrett Allen	21	20
2:24	Brice Sensabaugh enters the game for Isaiah Collier	21	20
2:24	Micah Potter enters the game for Lauri Markkanen	21	20
2:14	Micah Potter makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jordan Clarkson assists)	21	23
2:03	Georges Niang misses 24-foot three point jumper	21	23
2:00	Brice Sensabaugh defensive rebound	21	23
1:50	Jordan Clarkson makes 11-foot two point shot	21	25
1:38	Georges Niang misses 25-foot three point jumper	21	25
1:35	Max Strus offensive rebound	21	25
1:28	Walker Kessler blocks Georges Niang 's 1-foot layup	21	25
1:25	Caris LeVert offensive rebound	21	25
1:24	Evan Mobley makes alley oop dunk shot (Caris LeVert assists)	23	25
1:08	Georges Niang personal foul	23	25
1:01	Collin Sexton makes 11-foot pullup jump shot (Brice Sensabaugh assists)	23	27
51.1	Donovan Mitchell makes 25-foot three point step back jumpshot (Georges Niang assists)	26	27
41.1	Collin Sexton misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	26	27
38.0	Georges Niang defensive rebound	26	27
32.1	Evan Mobley misses two point shot	26	27
29.1	Brice Sensabaugh defensive rebound	26	27
10.0	Collin Sexton misses driving floating jump shot	26	27
9.1	Brice Sensabaugh offensive rebound	26	27
8.0	Evan Mobley blocks Brice Sensabaugh 's 13-foot pullup jump shot	26	27
4.0	Max Strus defensive rebound	26	27
0.0	Donovan Mitchell makes 24-foot three point shot (Max Strus assists)	29	27
0.0	(00:00) [Jazz] REF-INITIATED REVIEW (REPLAY SUPPORTS CALL)	29	27
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	29	27

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Rocket Arena

Cleveland, OH

Date & Time

12:00 AM, December 24, 2024

Coverage

NBA League Pass, FanDuel SN OH, KJZZ-TV

Attendance

19,432

Referees

Ben Taylor, Nick Buchert, Tyler Ricks

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	46	15	.754	W1
Denver	37	23	.617	L1
Minnesota	37	23	.617	W2
Portland	29	32	.475	L1
Utah	18	42	.300	L5

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Detroit	44	14	.759	W2
Cleveland	37	24	.607	L2
Milwaukee	26	32	.448	L1
Chicago	24	36	.400	L11
Indiana	15	45	.250	L5

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Darius Garland scores 23 and NBA-best Cavaliers beat Jazz 124-113 for 17th home win in 18 games

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