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This was Rodney Hood's moment. He wasn't going to let it slip away.

With Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward missing Monday night's matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a foot injury, the Jazz needed Hood to be more aggressive. They needed him to take more of an ownership stake in the offense, and he complied with one of his best games in weeks.

Hood scored 28 points in leading the Jazz to a 94-85 win over the LeBron James-led Cavs. But it was how he scored those points that proved impressive. Hood was able to get into the lane at will and create offense for himself. He was efficient from 3-point land. And he put his imprint on the game for all four quarters.

As a result, the Jazz — chasing a postseason berth — scored one of their biggest wins of the season in front of a sellout crowd of 19,911 at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

The win was huge for Utah on multiple fronts. With their closest competition for the playoffs — the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets — both winning on Monday night, the Jazz were able to avoid losing ground. This means they still remain two games behind the Mavericks, who won on the road at the Charlotte Hornets earlier in the night.

The victory is the third straight for Utah, which defeated the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night and the Washington Wizards last Friday night. The Jazz seem to have figured a way through one of the roughest stretches to their season, and seem to be playing well at an opportune time.

On Monday night, Utah needed everyone to contribute with Hayward out, and everyone played their part. Derrick Favors was able to score in bunches on the interior, totaling 19 points. Rudy Gobert shut down the paint defensively, and once again Shelvin Mack ran the point guard position with aplomb, scoring 17 points, handing out 10 assists and grabbing seven rebounds.

James — one of the best players in the NBA — left his mark on the game, like he always does, scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. But he wasn't able to flat out dominate the game, like he did on Sunday at the Los Angeles Clippers, when he scored 27 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out five assists in three quarters of a blowout win. As good as he was, Hayward's replacement, Joe Ingles, did a solid job of keeping him away from the basket, where he can be lethal.

The problem with Cleveland on this night was the supporting cast. In short, they didn't provide much support. All-star point guard Kyrie Irving had a miserable night, shooting 7 for 23 from the field on his way to 15 points. Shooting guard JR Smith was invisible on the perimeter, and Kevin Love had the same efficiency issues that plagued Irving.

Conversely, the Jazz figured out a way to get everyone involved. Rookie Trey Lyles came off the bench in the fourth quarter and proved unstoppable offensively, scoring 10 of his 12 points. As good as Hood was, Lyles, the 6-foot-10 power forward out of Kentucky, was a difference-maker. Raul Neto and Trevor Booker also had their moments off the bench.

A 20-9 run in the fourth quarter created enough separation for the Jazz to get the win. Utah was able to spread the floor, get the Cleveland defense in scramble situations, and make shots from the 3-point line.

Frustrated, the Cavaliers tried to get back into game, which got chippy when Lyles and Cleveland forward Channing Frye almost came to blows in front of the ESPN nationally televised audience.

But as much as this night belonged to the Jazz, it belonged to Hood, who proved for one night he could lead the orchestra as a first scoring option. Even with the Cleveland defense investing the bulk of its time and energy into keeping him quiet, his scoring spoke volumes.

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Storylines

P Utah begins the fourth quarter by scoring 20 of the first 29 points and wins its third straight game.

• The Jazz improve to 32-35 on the season and remain two games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

• Utah defeats Cleveland for the second time in seven tries.

More coverage

• Snyder says season not riding on playoffs. — B4 Kragthorpe • Complete effort makes up for Hayward's absence. > B4

• Foot injury sidelines Hayward. — B5