SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 1, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Jordan Clarkson rang in the New Year by etching his name into Utah Jazz history.
Clarkson posted the first triple-double by a Jazz player since Feb. 13, 2008, during Utah’s 127-90 rout of the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night at the Delta Center.
The streaky shooting fan favorite finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to end the Jazz’s 1,256 regular-season game triple-double drought that had been the longest in the NBA.
His assist total included one of the top highlights of the season that started with a Clarkson steal and ended with a Kris Dunn dunk.
“I’m just happy to break that record finally,” Clarkson said after the game. “I know it’s been some time, way back to my OG Carlos Boozer.”
Boozer was the last Jazz player with a triple-double, finishing with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 112-93 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics, featuring a young Kevin Durant.
Clarkson collected the triple-double-clinching rebound with 2 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Jazz comfortably ahead 125-88.
Both Clarkson and Jazz coach Will Hardy talked after the game about their conversation on whether Clarkson should remain in the game for statistical purposes with a victory already assured.
“I said, ‘Get a rebound and call timeout immediately,'” Hardy said. “Like, I’m obviously not here to mess up a good time. I understand that I would have been maybe the most hated man in the building if I had subbed him out.
“But there is a part of you where you’re the head coach and you’re like, the worst thing in the world would be Jordan turning his ankle up 30, hunting for a triple-double. But again, I do recognize that those things are important.”
Hardy said the way Clarkson, the players and fans reacted to the clinching rebound was evidence of its importance.
“You could definitely feel it,” Clarkson said of the Delta Center crowd. “We’ve got the best fans in the league. … They talk basketball, they knew what was on the plate and we had to deliver.”
It was the first triple-double for Clarkson, who got a game ball from Hardy and a locker room shower from his Jazz teammates after the game.
The Jazz improved to 15-19 with the victory and won for the seventh time in their past 10 games. Utah also avenged a 147-97 loss to the Mavericks on Dec. 6 in Dallas.
“Obviously, based on how the last game went against them, [it was] a really big turnaround for our group,” Hardy said.
