To be honest, after the 3-pointer he had just made, that was the only suitable reaction. Clarkson almost double-dribbled, almost ran out of time, and then almost committed a backcourt violation. His shaky running 3-pointer from the wing instead went in.
At the end, he could have done the same.
To be honest, after the 3-pointer he had just made, that was the only suitable reaction. Clarkson almost double-dribbled, almost ran out of time, and then almost committed a backcourt violation. His shaky running 3-pointer from the wing instead went in.
After catching Dallas in a preswitch, Clarkson zipped a pass under the rim to a wide-open John Collins. With 6.4 seconds left, he made an uncontested two-handed slam that proved to be the game-winning basket as Utah defeated the Mavericks 115-113.
During that last possession, Luka Doncic was on Collins down low. Doncic had his sights set on the corner, and Quentin Grimes started to cheat up the wing to meet Collins, who seemed to be expecting him to run up to set a pick for Clarkson.
The issue? He was left alone in the most hazardous area of the court when Collins chose not to go up.
“I’m just happy me and John had some, like, telekinesis action going on,” Clarkson stated. “I mean, he just read my eyes and knew what I was looking for.”
“Me and JC were just like looking at each other: ‘You gonna be open?'” Collins grinned as he spoke. “You can see JC saying (with his eyes), ‘No stay, Here you go.’ And it was just like a great play that shows our chemistry. We always had a JC-to-JC connection. JC made a great read, finished the play, and we finally got a home win.”
Collins completed a 28-point evening with the final dunk, maintaining his impressive recent play.
After it appeared that the home team was losing the game, he scored Utah’s final two baskets. Utah led by 16 points early in the fourth quarter after a solid third quarter, which has been unusual for the Jazz this season. Doncic then guided Dallas to victory.
The Dallas star finished the game with nine assists and 37 points. With 1:33 left, he helped Derrick Lively, giving the Mavericks a two-point advantage.
At that moment, Utah appeared to have no answer for a Mavericks team on the rise and was without Lauri Markkanen, who was hurt in the eye and missed the end of the game.
Collins and Clarkson supplied one.
“JC and John were unbelievable down the stretch,” Hardy stated. “Their poise really stood out. JC, made big plays. John made big plays all night. His energy is infectious for us.”
Clarkson finished a 3-point play on the other end after he was knocked down by a bucket. Then, with 36.7 seconds left, Collins dunk after rebounding a rejected Clarkson jumper to put Utah ahead 3 points.
Klay Thompson’s wing three to tie the game only served to set up the last play by Clarkson and Collins.
“They got confused on whether they were switching or not—sort of two guys went back out towards the corner and JC threw him a dart,” Hardy recalled. “But that’s JC and John understanding the moment together.”
Collin Sexton ended with 16 points and five rebounds, while Clarkson finished with 20 points and four assists. Kyle Filipowski scored 11 of his 14 points in a dominant second quarter, and Lauri Markkanen added 14 points before he left.
Six of the Jazz’s players were in double figures.
“Tonight’s not about like the X’s and O’s piece, the tactical piece. It was about the mental and the physical toughness the team showed throughout and really stuck with it against a good team tonight. That’s what we’re looking for,” Hardy stated.