Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to post a historic triple-double and help the Utah Jazz pull off a 127-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association regular season late Monday (Tuesday in Manila).
Clarkson, who has been representing Gilas Pilipinas in the international arena, posted 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to emerge as the first Jazz to record a rare feat in a regular season game since Carlos Boozer delivered 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in their 112-93 win over the Seattle Supersonics on 13 February 2008.
Ricky Rubio was the last Jazz to emerge with a triple-double but he did in the playoffs in 2018.
It was also the first triple-double of a Jazz bench player in more than two decades since Mark Eaton delivered 12 points, 14 rebounds and 12 blocks in their 136-143 win over the Denver Nuggets on 5 February 1983.
“It was a very cool little milestone to put on my list,” Clarkson, whose maternal grandmother is from Pampanga, said.
The 31-year-old Clarkson achieved the triple-double in his 685th regular-season game, and 728th game of his career.
He was a second-round pick, 46th overall, in the 2014 draft by Washington before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. He was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2019 and moved to the Jazz in 2019.
Clarkson had several near-misses in the fourth quarter before grabbing his 10th, and final, rebound with 2:28 left.
He wrapped up the ball, called timeout and then his teammates and Jazz fans erupted with cheers.
“All the way up to the rebound, I was a little nervous,” Clarkson said.
Clarkson’s triple-double is the latest step away from a reputation as a gunner he gained earlier in his NBA career.
“He’s adapted to a new role and he’s really trying to expand how he contributes to winning,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said.
“It’s not just about scoring points. If I could have picked somebody on our team right now to break the streak, it would have been Jordan.”
Simone Fontecchio paced the Jazz with 24 points. Lauri Markkanen added 17 points and John Collins chipped in 15. Walker Kessler had team-highs of 10 rebounds and four blocks, along with 11 points.
Meanwhile, O.G. Anunoby sparkled in his first NBA game for the New York Knicks as they shocked Western Conference leader Minnesota Timberwolves, 112-106.
Julius Randle scored a game-high 39 points while Anunoby added 17 points and six rebounds only hours after arriving from Toronto in a Saturday trade.
The 26-year-old London-born defensive standout, who won an NBA crown with the Raptors in 2019 and led the league in steals last season, was learning about his new team on the fly after more than six seasons in Toronto.
“Even during the game, they were telling me, ‘Go here. Do this’,” Anunoby said. “They were helping me out for sure, a lot of them, and I’m thankful for it.”
“Everything really. New terminology. Just trying to figure everything out the best I can, so a lot of read-and-react today.”
“Each day I’m going to get better at everything, learning the plays, learning the terminology, learning the steps. I’ll learn every day.”
Anunoby’s strong showing after arriving at a hotel and getting his physical Sunday night impressed Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
“I thought, first game, impressive, just to be ready and kind of figure it out on the fly,” Thibodeau said.
“Played smart, played off people well, played great defense, hustled, moved without the ball, shot good shots, made good plays, so very good start.”
Thibodeau tried his best to keep things simple on the veteran playmaker, who has career averages of 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals a game.
“You don’t want him overthinking things,” Thibodeau said.
“Just give him a basic framework and we can add day by day. If you get lost just play.”
Anthony Edwards scored 35 points to pace the Timberwolves, who fell to 24-8.
