One year removed from taking his team to the NBA Finals in his first year on the job, David Blatt was fired by the title-chasing Cleveland Cavaliers, general manager David Griffin confirmed Friday.

Griffin said the Cavaliers, with a 30-11 record and the top team in the Eastern Conference, had been taking steps back and were lacking connection, saying the team wasn’t in the business of being “pretty good.’’

Blatt’s top assistant, Tyronn Lue, an 11-year NBA veteran player and former Celtics assistant, will take over as coach when the Cavaliers host the Chicago Bulls Saturday night.

Blatt’s firing came one day after the coach was defensive following the team’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Blatt was bothered by criticism his team, led by LeBron James, received after a 34-point loss to the defending champion Golden State Warriors earlier this week.

“My guys are out there fighting for the Cavaliers and doing the best job they can in a tough NBA — very tough — especially because this is a team that night after night has a target on its back,’’ Blatt said. “They go out there and they fight and they play and they deal with adversity like we’ve had to deal with all year.

“We are far from perfect and we are still not at our best,’’ he added, “but it’s not for lack of effort and it’s not for lack of good group of guys that want to do their job as best as they possibly can and I think have done pretty well so far.’’

Following Thursday night’s win over the Clippers, Blatt shared a moment with James at his locker. The pair shook hands and smiled at each other, without any hint that a coaching change was forthcoming.

Jazz 108, Nets 86 — Gordon Hayward had 21 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds, and Rodney Hood scored 16 points as Utah cruised past host Brooklyn, which lost its fifth in a row and 10 of its last 11 games.

Clippers 116, Knicks 88 ­— DeAndre Jordan scored 20 points on 7-for-7 shooting, and Chris Paul had 16 points, 13 assists and 6 rebounds as visiting Los Angeles routed New York.

Hornets 120, Magic 116 — In Orlando, Kemba Walker had 40 points and nine assists, and Spencer Hawes made a go-ahead 3-poiner with 17 seconds left in overtime to rally visiting Charlotte.

Raptors 101, Heat 81 — In Toronto, Demar DeRozan had a game-high 33 points on 12-for-25 shooting to trounce visiting Miami.

Rockets 102, Bucks 98 — James Harden had 30 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds to help host Houston snap a two-game losing skid. Trevor Ariza added 19 points for the Rockets.

Thunder 109, Mavericks 106 — Playing in Dallas for the first time in two years, Kevin Durant scored a team-high 24 points for visiting Oklahoma. Russell Westbrook added 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists for the Thunder.