How the Cleveland Cavaliers Earned a Monday Win Over the Utah Jazz

The Cleveland Cavaliers continued to round out the final portion of their regular season schedule with a 122-113 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday.

Evan Mobley ended the night with a season-best 34 points and 17 rebounds as he played captain for the Cavaliers, while James Harden added 14 assists in his 20th double-double of the year.

The duo of Cody Williams and Kyle Filipowski took point for Utah with a combined 46 points by game's end.

Mar 30, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) looks for a play against Utah Jazz guard Kennedy Chandler (0) during the first half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

A back-and-forth battle ended with Cleveland claiming an early lead in the Salt Lake City showdown. An even showing from the Cavs' big three kept them just ahead, but Mobley would stand out as an anchor in the middle with eight points and four rebounds in the first quarter.

While Cleveland took control of the paint from the jump, it couldn't find a spark from the 3-point line as it ended the first half with three makes on 14 tries from beyond the arc. The Cavs have been up-and-down from long range over the course of the month, but recently hit an electric high of 19 makes in a win over the Miami Heat.

Cleveland would fly out to a 14-point lead in the second quarter with a number of close-range strikes, but Utah came right back with the same playbook, along with a jumper from Williams, to get back into fighting range. The Cavs would still stay ahead with a 10-point difference by halftime as Sam Merrill and Keon Ellis, who have become more notable parts of Cleveland's rotations, tacked on a few more inside buckets before the horn.

The 3-point difference started to take a toll on the Cavs as Utah battled back in the third, but Cleveland's clutch factor kicked in when it needed it most to pull out its sixth win in seven matchups.

Donovan Mitchell hit half of Cleveland's six total 3-pointers as he showed some signs of life from long range in the third quarter, but it wouldn't stop the Cavs from ending the night with their lowest 3-point clip of the year at 18.8%. It barely outpaced their previous regular-season worst of a dead-even 20% in a January win over the Charlotte Hornets.

The Cavs ended the night at 4.5 games ahead of the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks for 4th place in the Eastern Conference. They hold a comfortable cushion over the Philadelphia 76ers for a spot in the Play-In Tournament while placing just one game behind the New York Knicks.

The Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics have earned their place in the playoffs, while the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs clinched their divisions on their way to their own spots in the postseason. It will be San Antonio's first playoff run since the 2018-19 season, when the Cavs started their most recent rebuild before returning to the playoffs four seasons later.

Cleveland will take its talents to Venice Beach for the final time in their regular season campaign to take on the Los Angeles Lakers. LA has only fallen in two games since the start of the month, but the Cavs still hold a 1-0 lead over the Lakers in the regular season. Mitchell and Cavs wing Jaylon Tyson starred in Cleveland's last win over the Lakers, where they scored a combined 45 points in a 30-point victory at Rocket Arena.

The Cavs will face the Lakers at 10:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday in crypto.com Arena. The game will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network - Ohio.