Jefferson helps Jazz hold off Heat
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When LeBron James and the Miami Heat made their run, the Utah Jazz held their ground.
Al Jefferson tallied 23 points and 11 rebounds in Utah's 104-97 win over the Heat.
Gordon Hayward scored 22 points for the Jazz, who have won seven straight home games against Eastern Conference opponents.
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James netted 32 points for Miami, which has dropped three of its first four on their six-game road trip.
The Heat trailed by as many as 21 in the third before an elongated 21-5 run pulled the hosts within two in the fourth.
"It was a great comeback coming into the quarter. Our guys really played their hearts out, really competed. Everything has got to go right if you are down 20, but we gave it a shot," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said.
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Ray Allen hit a pair of 3-pointers and had eight points during the surge, which was capped when Joel Anthony split a pair from the charity stripe to pull Miami within 93-91 with 3:32 to play.
Led by Hayward, though, Utah countered and outscored the Heat 11-6 the rest of the way.
Hayward's runner, followed by two Jefferson free throws two possessions later put the Jazz up by a 97-91 count. Hayward then made 1-of-2 from the stripe before James hit a floater. But Hayward provided the dagger on Utah's ensuing trip down the floor when he hit a step-back jumper from the foul line for a 100-93 Jazz advantage with 40.4 left.
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"We needed to make one," Utah head coach Tyrone Corbin said of Hayward's shot. "It gave us a little sigh of relief with the amount of time on the clock."
Hayward had seven points over the last three-plus minutes.
Earlier, Utah built a 30-25 cushion after a quarter of play before taking a 59-44 edge into the locker room.
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The Jazz took an 84-65 spread into the final frame.
Game Notes
Utah moved to 40-7 at home against the Eastern Conference since February of 2009 ... Chris Bosh poured in 16 points for Miami ... The Jazz pulled down 13 offensive rebounds.