Cavaliers at Jazz
Luol Deng makes his Cleveland debut Friday when the Cavaliers visit the Utah Jazz. Deng was acquired from the Chicago Bulls early this week when Cleveland successfully unloaded center Andrew Bynum and the two-time All-Star forward said he is happy to be joining the Cavaliers. “When it happened, I couldn’t believe it,” Deng said. “It took a while to hit me. But it’s not like I’m stopping from playing basketball. I’ve been traded from one great organization to another one.”
The suddenly confident Jazz have won four consecutive home games, including an impressive 112-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. Guard Gordon Hayward was the standout performer by scoring 17 of his career-best 37 points in the fourth quarter and was 13-of-16 from the field. Cleveland is just 2-15 on the road as it begins a five-game road trip, and the Cavaliers have lost five straight away games since winning at Orlando on Dec. 13.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (12-23): Cleveland scored well in acquiring Deng for the incorrigible Bynum, who quickly alienated the organization in his short stay with the team. Cavaliers coach Mike Brown sees Deng as a player who will boost chemistry as well as being a highly productive player. “He’s a veteran who’s still in his prime,” Brown said of the 28-year-old Deng, who averaged 19 points and 6.9 rebounds with the Bulls this season. “He adds to the culture of what we’re trying to do here. He’s definitely a two-way player that can add an amount of professionalism, a maturity, and winning ingredients to any ball club.”
ABOUT THE JAZZ (12-25): Hayward put forth the best effort of his four-year career with his showing against the Thunder that included 11 rebounds and seven assists in addition to a lively scoring duel with Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant. Hayward scored Utah’s final 17 points, repeatedly asking for the ball and hitting tough shots while topping 20 points for the third consecutive game. “Once you hit a couple of tough ones then the basket starts looking pretty big,” Hayward said afterward. “You feel like you can almost throw up anything and it will go in.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams split two meetings last season but the Cavaliers have dropped four straight road games against the Jazz.
2. Utah PG Trey Burke is averaging just nine points on 10-of-36 shooting over the past three contests.
3. Cleveland C Anderson Varejao has grabbed at least 11 rebounds in each of the last six games and is averaging 14.5 boards during the stretch.