SALT LAKE CITY – Luol Deng scored 10 points in 21 minutes of action in his Wine and Gold debut as Cleveland (13-23) defeated Utah (12-26) by a final of 113-102 Friday night.

Kyrie Irving had himself a game.

Uncle Drew dropped 25 points, six rebounds, eight assists and five steals in the win as his ball club started off their five game western trip on a winning note. It was a stat sheet stuffer kind of night for Irving against the Jazz who scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the third quarter of the win.

“He’s got a great feel for the game,” said head coach Mike Brown. “He paces himself fairly well and he hit a couple of buckets and stayed aggressive.

Tristan Thompson also had a big night chipping in a workman’s 18 points and 15 rebounds on his way to his third consecutive double-double.

Early on in this one the Cavaliers really struggled to figure out how to include Deng in the offensive scheme through the team’s first few possessions, but settled in and matched the Jazz blow for blow in the opening 12 minutes of basketball en route to a 26-26 tie after one.

Jazz reserve center and former No.3 overall pick Enes Kanter collected 10 of his 15 points on the night in the opening half behind a series of backdoor cuts and post moves that the Cleveland defense struggled to keep up with at times.

When Kanter and the Jazz opened up a six point lead – the largest lead by either team in the half – the Cavs were able to quickly trim the deficit to three to close the half where the Jazz would hold a 49-46 advantage.

Cavaliers guard C.J. Miles – who scorched the 76ers with 10 3-pointers made on Tuesday – shelved his shooting in the first as he found great success attacking the rim scoring 13 of his 17 points on the night in the opening 24 minutes of play.

Opening up the second half Cleveland went on a 10-2 run to take retake the lead at 56-51 behind a pair of jumpers from Deng off of screens which set the tone early on in the third.

But the third quarter belonged entirely to Irving who scored 17 points in the period as he continued to have his way with Jazz rookie Trey Burke offensively. Irving drew several fouls on mid-range jumpers and made some nice turnaround baskets on post moves as Uncle Drew simply went off.

Add in a few heat-check 3-pointers by Irving and a Jarrett Jack trifecta that beat the buzzer and the Cavs finished the third quarter with a 15 point lead at 85-70.

As impressive of a second half as the Cavaliers – and Irving in particular – had in of this one, much can be said about Dion Waiters who had yet another impressive performance off the bench with 17 points in 30 minutes.

With Irving playing much of the way, the Wine and Gold stepped on the gas pedal in the fourth quarter and picked up their second straight win since the trade with Chicago heading into Sunday’s contest with the Kings in Sacramento.

Whether it was Waiters, Irving, or Miles leading the way in the second half, the Cavs made some key adjustments during the intermission to pick up a must needed road victory (only their third on the season).

“It was a big win for us,” said Brown. “For us to lock in and fight the right the way in order for us to get [this] win to start the road trip off the right way was big. You have to give our guys credit for coming out in the second half and playing basketball the way that they know how.”

Postgame shots

It was an all-around effort tonight as seven Cavaliers were in double figures (Irving, Deng, Waiters, Thompson, Jack, Zeller, Miles).

With Irving’s 25 points against the Jazz, he needs just one more to notch 3,000 points for his career.

Varejao – who recently moved into fourth place on the Cavs’ all-time list for career rebounding – continues to climb into Cavaliers record books as his two steals in tonight’s ball game move shim pass John Bagley for eighth place on the club’s all-time steals list.

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