Jordan Clarkson wasted no time in starting off 2024 with a bang. The Utah Jazz guard became the first player in franchise history since Carlos Boozer in 2008 to record a triple-double, when he dropped 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in a win against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. He also became the first Utah player since 1983 to accomplish that feat while coming off the bench.
It was Clarkson's first career triple-double, and he did it with incredible efficiency, shooting 50% from the field. Clarkson and the Jazz took advantage of a Mavericks team that struggled mightily to put points on the board in what was Kyrie Irving's return to action for Dallas after missing the last 12 games with a foot injury.
Dallas didn't have much of an answer all night for Clarkson, who did most of his damage from mid range. He worked in a variety of stepback, mid-range jumpers, floaters and easy drive by's to the rim, exposing Dallas' weak defense. At the end of the first quarter, Utah's play-by-play analyst put it perfectly, saying on the broadcast "He's been everywhere," after Clarkson skied in for a putback dunk.
"Just happy to break that record, finally," Clarkson said after his milestone night. "I know it's been some time."
It's actually surprising that it's been 16 years since a Utah player has recorded a triple-double, because you would think that Donovan Mitchell would've done it during his five seasons there. But as talented as Mitchell is, he's still never posted a triple-double, another surprising fact.
While Clarkson was excited about the accomplishment, undoubtedly his teammates, the fans inside Delta Center and the announcers were far more emotional for the 2020-21 Sixth Man of the Year. When Clarkson got his 10th rebound to secure the triple-double with 2:28 remaining in the game, the crowd went wild as if it were a playoff game, the announcers shouted like it was a game-winning shot and the players on the bench couldn't help themselves from jumping up and down.
Jordan Clarkson secures his first career triple-double and becomes the first Jazz player with a triple-double since Carlos Boozer on 2/13/2008. pic.twitter.com/iItFL9Nwen
— NBA (@NBA) January 2, 2024
It was a cool moment to see everyone so excited for Clarkson, but leave it to the head coach to ground everyone in reality for a moment. With just under four minutes to play Jazz head coach Will Hardy could be heard joking with Clarkson during the timeout to "go get a rebound so I can take your ass out, man." At that point Utah was well ahead 122-86 and there was no reason for Clarkson to still be in the game. But Hardy said after the win that he wouldn't have taken that moment away from Clarkson.
"I said get a rebound and call a timeout immediately," Hardy said after the game. "I'm obviously not here to mess up a good time, I understand that I would've been maybe the most hated man in the building if I subbed him out. But there's a part of you where you're the head coach, and you're like the worst thing in the world would be Jordan like turning his ankle up 30 [points], hunting for a triple-double. But again, I do recognize, that those things are important. The way the building reacted, the way the fans reacted, the way the team reacted, the way Jordan reacted to that -- I was basically just begging him to just get a rebound and call a timeout immediately so that I could get him off the court. I'm happy it worked out."
Clarkson said he didn't think he'd get that last rebound because down the stretch the Jazz were getting several blocks and steals to limit the possibility of a rebound, and he joked with Hardy during a timeout that he might just throw the ball off the backboard and grab the rebound to call it a night.
"I was just joking with him, I told him I might just throw it off the rim and just try and run and get one, but he was like, man can you just please go get a rebound so I can take you out the game, and I was just like, well I'm trying," Clarkson said with a laugh. "That was really it, and he said once you get the rebound just call a timeout and you're night's over."
It was a special moment for Clarkson, but for the Jazz it meant even more as it improves their record to 15-19, with a 7-3 record in their last 10 games. Utah is still on the outside looking in of the play-in picture, but just two games separate them and the 10th-placed Lakers for that final play-in spot in the West.
