Clarkson set a franchise record for points as a reserve and had the first 40-point game for a Jazz player since he had 41 last season.
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Playing without Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley, Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder called it a ”man-up type of game.” Well, Jordan Clarkson was certainly the man against Sacramento. He scored a career-high 45 points to overcome the absence of Gobert and Conley and help the Jazz beat the Kings 134-125 on Saturday night.
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Clarkson set a franchise record for points as a reserve and had the first 40-point game for a Jazz player since he had 41 last season on May 10 against Golden State. He has four games with more than 40 points off the bench. Conley planted the seed when they arrived at the arena and he started telling Clarkson that it was about time he had a big scoring night.
Clarkson made seven 3s and made all eight shots from inside the arc and all eight free throws to help Utah rebound from a loss Friday night at San Antonio. His three free throws gave the Jazz their largest lead at 111-95, but the Kings didn’t fade away as they have so often this season.
Davion Mitchell, who had 14 points, made a layup to cap an 11-0 run for Sacramento and draw the Kings to 111-106, but they couldn’t stop Clarkson and Donovan Mitchell down the stretch and get any closer.
”As a shooter and a scorer, when you shoot like that early, you kind of sense it would be his night,” Mitchell said. ”He continuously hit the right shots at the right time.”
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Bogdanovic scored 26 points for Utah, and Mitchell had 25. They have won nine straight at home and nine in a row in the series against Sacramento. Hassan Whiteside, filling in for Gobert, had 12 points and a career-high 21 rebounds.
Three games after posting a career-best 44 points, De’Aaron Fox had 41 points and 11 assists for Sacramento. As good as Fox was, not containing Clarkson was the death knell for the Kings.
”Especially once (Clarkson) got it going, it’s difficult to guard,” Fox said. ”He comes off the bench to score the ball and that’s what they want him to do. He got going, and it was almost impossible to stop him after that.”
