When it was all over, Donovan Mitchell sprinted at Jordan Clarkson, a pair of water bottles in his hand, and doused the Utah Jazz’s sixth man.
That was as close as anyone came to cooling down Clarkson on Monday night at Vivint Arena.
The Jazz guard torched the nets, scoring 40 points to help his team beat the Philadelphia 76ers 134-123.
The Sixers were the best team in the East as of Monday night, but they couldn’t handle the West’s best, as the Jazz (23-5) reeled off their eighth win in a row.
“The biggest thing for me is them believing in me,” Clarkson said. “Letting me be myself and embracing me just plays a role in who I am. That gives me confidence. Those guys always come over to the bench and tell me to keep shooting, even when I’m having an off night, even when I’m hot. They’re telling me to shoot the ball no matter what.”
CAN’T COOL HIM OFF!#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/Y1IQYm6Pzy
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) February 16, 2021
Donovan Mitchell had 24 points. Joe Ingles scored 20. And three Jazzmen finished with 11 points.
Philly’s Ben Simmons had 42 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in the loss.
Even with All-Star center Joel Embiid getting a late scratch because of a back issue, the Sixers jumped out to an early lead in Salt Lake City. Philly led 24-10 midway through the opening quarter.
Behind 19 points and five assists from Simmons, the Sixers shot 72.7 percent from the field and scored 22 points in the paint in the period.
“At the beginning of the game, he had too much space in transition,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said. “Tonight he attacked the rim early. He felt the game. We had to get back and show him more of a crowd and make it harder for him to see a drive, to deter him.”
The hot hands of Clarkson and Georges Niang kept Utah within arm’s reach. Clarkson went 4-for-5 from deep in the first quarter while Niang went 2-for-2.
“When Jordan came in with the performance he had, we’ve seen that obviously before—but that was another level,” Snyder said. “I thought he kept us in the game.”
The Jazz kept clawing their way back. And when Bogdanovic converted a wild and-one bucket midway through the second, the Jazz had their first lead, a 57-55 advantage.
Despite shooting just 2-for-11 from deep in the second, the Jazz took a 72-66 lead into the locker room at halftime. Clarkson had 19 at the break.
The Jazz’s sixth man stayed hot in the second half. His 13 points in the third helped the Jazz build their first double-digit lead and take a 106-94 advantage into the final quarter.
“He’s not bashful and we don’t want him to be,” Snyder said of Clarkson.
Simmons kept the Sixers close, leading an 10-0 charge in the opening minutes of the fourth.
But Clarkson and the Jazz would not be deterred en route to their 19th win in the last 20 games, answering with big play after big play.
Clarkson scored eight more points in the fourth, finishing just two points shy of his career high.
Royce O’Neale crashed into the scorer’s table during a defensive stand and then sank two clutch 3-pointers. Rudy Gobert denied Dwight Howard at the rim on one end and then rocked his own rim on the other.
“Philly played great,” Snyder said. “It took us making some big plays at the end of the game.”
Monday’s Best
8 made threes ties a career high for JC #PerformanceLeader | @UofUHealth pic.twitter.com/fYlVA3EClj
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) February 16, 2021
| JC is the first player to score 40 points off the bench in under 30 minutes since it was done in 1991 (h/t @statmuse) #NBAAllStar | @jordanclarksons pic.twitter.com/46XZUfx0ob
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) February 16, 2021
Up Next
The Jazz will hit the road for a pair of games against the L.A. Clippers. Tipoff is set for Wednesday at 8 p.m.
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