Not always pretty, but Cavs close out Jazz behind Mobley, Mitchell

The Cavaliers handled business. Eventually.

Riding big nights from Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs pulled away late for a 122-113 road win over the Utah Jazz on Monday.

Mobley was dominant. He finished with 34 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and three blocks on 15-of-21 shooting. Utah didn’t have much for him inside, and the Cavs kept going back to it.

“This is the mentality that’s expected of Mobley,” one rival scout told Hoops Wire. “When he has that matchup, he has to demand the ball. He did that tonight.”

Mitchell added 34 points of his own, his 32nd game of 30-plus this season. He shot 10-of-18 from the field and 11-of-12 at the line, continuing a year that’s been steady and, at this point, almost routine.

James Harden did the organizing. He finished with 13 points, 14 assists and six rebounds, consistently steering the offense toward Mobley. That’s now back-to-back games with 14 assists.

The Cavs (47-28) led by as many as 15 but let Utah hang around into the fourth. The Jazz even grabbed a brief lead before Cleveland’s starters tightened things up late.

Utah shot 15-of-29 from three. Cleveland went 6-of-32. That kept things closer than expected.

There were solid contributions elsewhere. Sam Merrill added nine points, four rebounds and three assists, continuing to show growth off the bounce. Keon Ellis chipped in 13 points with two steals.

The Cavs were also without Jarrett Allen and Max Strus, while Dean Wade and Jaylon Tyson remained out.

Utah got 26 points from Cody Williams and 20 points and 10 rebounds from Kyle Filipowski.

Bottom line? The Cavs didn’t always look sharp. But they had more than enough when they needed it.

Their three-game West trip continues Tuesday, with a visit to LeBron James and the fairly hot Los Angeles Lakers.

• BOX SCORE | Cavs 122, Jazz 113
• MORE CAVS | All Hoops Wire coverage