LeBron scores 26, Cavaliers cruise past Jazz 106-92

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 26 points, Kevin Love added 19 and the rejuvenated Cleveland Cavaliers won their fourth straight, 106-92 over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.

Shaking off a flu bug that forced him to miss practice Tuesday and also slowed Kyrie Irving, James added nine assists and seven rebounds. The Cavs are 4-1 since the four-time MVP returned after missing eight games with a strained back and knee.

Irving added 18 points and Timofey Mozgov 16 for Cleveland, beginning to find its stride following a stretch of injuries and two major trades. J.R. Smith scored 15 as all five Cavs starters scored at least that many for the second straight game.

Until that happened on Monday, the Cavs hadn't done that since March 16, 1993.

Enes Kanter scored 24 with 17 rebounds andGordon Hayward scored 14 for Utah, which has dropped five of six and four straight road games.

The Cavs avenged a 102-100 loss to the Jazz on Nov. 5, when Hayward dropped a buzzer-beating jumper after escaping James. There would be no such heroics this time for Hayward, who received an icy stare from James in the third quarter. James got ahead of Hayward on a breakaway and delivered a vicious dunk the Utah forward could do nothing to stop.

Later in the period, the Cavs had one of their most memorable sequences this season. Hustling back on defense, Smith used both hands to blindly back tap a loose ball to Tristan Thompson, who handed it off to Irving on the fly. Cleveland's point guard then fed Love with an alley-oop pass for a dunk that rocked Quicken Loans Arena and gave the Cavs a 74-48 lead.

It was the kind of moment the Cavs and their fans have been craving for weeks, and the team celebrated long after the Jazz called a timeout.

James still looked under the weather when he spoke to reporters following the morning shootaround. Irving, too, has been sick and skipped the workout in order to get rested up.

But both played with energy and appeared to have gotten over the virus.

The Cavs, too, are getting healthier on the floor and in the standings.

TIP-INS

Jazz: Coach Quin Snyder expects overall improvement in the final 40 games. ''I'd like to see us do a better job taking care of the basketball,'' he said. ''We're not as good a passing team as I'd like for us to be. Sometimes we're too loose with the ball. Maybe some of that's a function of youth.'' ... Rookie F/G Rodney Hood (sore left foot) won't return until after the All-Star break. He was injured Sunday against San Antonio. ... F Joe Ingles played for Cavaliers head coach David Blatt last season at Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Cavaliers: F Shawn Marion plans to retire following this season, his 16th in the NBA. Marion, a four-time All-Star during eight seasons with Phoenix, contemplated retirement last summer before signing as a free agent. Blatt had high praise for the 36-year-old. ''He's played the game at a high level for 16 years and he's a terrific teammate, great guy and super performer,'' Blatt said. ''He's going to have to be in the discussion for the Hall of Fame.'' ... The Cavs had 24 assists after getting just six in their loss to Utah in November.

UP NEXT

Jazz: At Milwaukee on Thursday.

Cavaliers: Host Charlotte on Friday.