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Cleveland • Sometimes, you can prepare all you want, the scouting report works, the shots fall and the defense plays well enough to come out with a win.
Or sometimes — like on Tuesday night — the opponent has LeBron James. Then there's almost nothing you can do.
This was the conundrum of the Utah Jazz in a 118-114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers before a sellout crowd at Quicken Loans Arena. The Jazz (4-3) played marvelous basketball for most of the evening. They held a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, playing well on both ends of the floor. But James was too good in the fourth quarter, and he willed his team to a win down the stretch.
"He's the best player in the world for a reason," Utah forward Gordon Hayward said. "This is definitely one we can learn from. It was a great experience."
A Rudy Gobert dunk with 7:22 remaining put the Jazz up 95-86 in a game they had trailed most of the way. That's when James got off the bench and took the game over.
Drives, jumpers, steals and lay-ups later, James had 17 of his game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter. He added eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals. He put his fingerprint on every facet of the game down the stretch and led Cleveland to 38 points in the fourth quarter.
Yet the Jazz hung in and had opportunities to win it in the final minute. A 3-pointer by Alec Burks cut the Cavaliers lead to 116-114 with 1.2 seconds remaining. But two free-throws by Mo Williams put the game out of reach for Cleveland.
It's difficult for a team to stop James fully, which makes stopping those around him of importance. But Williams hurt the Jazz on Tuesday night. The former Utah point guard scored 29 points, missing only one of his 9 shots from the floor. He hit all four of his 3-pointers, and added six assists and six rebounds. Williams was the best player on the floor not named LeBron.
"You can see why they're as good as they are," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "I'm happy we hung in there and kept playing, especially when they were making shots early in the game. I thought it was a good effort from out group tonight. You take the loss hard, and you bounce back."
While Cleveland relied almost exclusively on James and Williams, the Jazz had six players score in double figures. Burks was at times spectacular off the bench, scoring a team-high 24 points. Hayward and Derrick Favors scored 17 points each. Trey Burke and Rodney Hood scored 16, while Rudy Gobert dropped in 15.
But Gobert sprained his ankle and was lost for much of the fourth quarter, and his absence opened the lane for James and the Cavaliers. Gobert says the injury isn't serious, and he would like to play on Thursday when the Jazz visit the Miami Heat.
Utah has three games remaining on the current Eastern Conference road trip. Cleveland on Tuesday night won its seventh consecutive game. And when the Cavaliers needed their superstar, James was there to carry his team.
"He is the greatest player in the game," Cleveland coach David Blatt said. "I don't think there's anyone with a higher basketball IQ or a better understanding of the moment. He took over the game and lifted the rest of the guys with him. He did the things that a great, great player like only him could do."
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