A one-man wrecking crew beats Jazz

CLEVELAND — For all of his amazing offense — and there was plenty Friday night, especially in the second half — what might have been most costly to the Jazz in Cleveland was witnessing LeBron James' defense.

James finished with 40 points, 34 of them coming after the break, and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the host Cavaliers past Utah 99-94 and almost single-handedly end the now 7-3 Jazz's win streak at five.

If it wasn't for a single play he made on the defensive end of the floor, though, it all might have been for naught.

After James rallied the Cavs from six points down entering the fourth quarter to two up at 94-92 with 18.7 seconds to go, the Jazz worked the ball inside hoping for a bucket and perhaps — dare they even think it? — a foul call.

Instead, as 26-point team-high scorer and ex-Cav Carlos Boozer slipped and started to go up with a pass from Deron Williams with 12.8 seconds left, James was there to knock the ball away.

The swat looked like a steal. The official score-sheet called it a block.

Whatever the tag, it was a huge play that helped Cleveland hold on and atone for a last-second loss just nine nights earlier in Utah. And it was one that certainly didn't sit well with some in the Jazz lockerroom.

"It looked like a foul," Williams said.

But a strip, Boozer added, is "what the ref said."

Boozer attempted to plead his case, but to no avail.

"I was trying to say he got me, but sometimes the hands are part of the ball," said Boozer, who also had 11 rebounds for his ninth double-double in 10 games this season. "But that was a good play on his part. He came over and stripped the ball. That's what the ref saw. That's what it was."

Said James, who suggested he was covering for a teammate's "messed-up" defensive assignment: "He (Boozer) didn't see me coming weak-side, and I was able to strip the ball from him. You definitely can't get the ball out of his hands if he sees you."

Former Jazz guard and Utah native Devin Brown of the Cavs was fouled immediately after James' peek-a-boo gem, and he hit 1-of-2 free throws — putting Cleveland up by three at 95-92, but also leaving the door open just a nudge for coach Jerry Sloan's club.