Utah gave a solid effort, handling Cleveland with ease in today's 89-68 win. This came as no surprise to Utah fans, who have been watching their team continue to improve recently. Players are starting to feel more confident as well. "I feel we can take on just about anybody right now," said today's star, Smiley. "The way this team's playing, there's no limit to how far we can go." Utah head coach Coach Young echoed his sentiment, saying "They all know they're as good as any other team in the league. They just have to stay focused and keep working, and the rest will take care of itself."

Lost in the excitement over Utah was the performance of Cleveland star Seger.

Utah was led by Smiley (13 points, 0 assists, 4 blocks), Hurd (13 points, 1 assists, 2 steals, a block), Feaster (8 points, 11 boards, 0 assists, a steal, 2 blocks). Cleveland was led by Seger (13 points, 1 assists, 4 blocks), Martin (17 points, 6 boards, 0 assists, a block), Reid (7 points, 8 boards, 0 assists, 2 blocks).

Utah are now 27-23 and 15-10 at home. They remain at #3 in the Northwest and advance to #7 overall in the Western Conference. After today's loss, Cleveland stand at 17-32. They hold at #4 in the Central and stay at #11 overall in the Eastern Conference.

box score Utah* roster Cleveland roster