The Cavs got exactly what they wanted. In a pre-Christmas matchup with the woeful and undermanned Utah Jazz, who entered the game as 14-point underdogs, Cleveland avoided a collapse and held on for a 124-113 victory Monday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Sam Merrill, who grew up in Utah and played at Utah State, starred for the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Utah Jazz.

Donovan Mitchell sees parallels with this Cavs team and the last title contender he was on: "You have to appreciate this."

Utah scored just 5 points in that final 4:39 as Cleveland pulled away down the stretch for a 124-113 win Monday.

There has been plenty of outside noise surrounding Donovan Mitchell for much of his career, but he said he has found a "sense of peace" with the