Jordan Clarkson leads Jazz past Spurs for fourth straight win
Jordan Clarkson #00 of the Utah Jazz dunks the ball against the Dallas Mavericks during the first half of their game at the Vivint Smart Home Arena on December 25, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Chris Gardner/Getty Images/AFP
Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points off the bench to pace a balanced Utah attack as the visiting Jazz defeated the San Antonio Spurs 110-104 on Monday for their fourth straight victory.
Utah took the lead late in the first quarter and never allowed the Spurs to see the front again, forging a 10-point edge at the half, expanding it to 12 after three quarters and by as many as 18 points in the fourth.
The Jazz won for the 12th time in their past 14 games despite playing without Donovan Mitchell, who is out with a back strain and did not make the trip to San Antonio.
📹| flowers for JC#TakeNote | @ZionsBank pic.twitter.com/UgkJKmLM47
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 28, 2021
Bojan Bogdanovic added 19 points for Utah, followed by Joe Ingles with 17. Rudy Gobert racked up 16 points and 13 rebounds, Hassan Whiteside scored 13 points and Mike Conley tallied 12.
San Antonio had six scorers reach double figures, led by Derrick White’s 21 points. He added eight assists. Doug McDermott had 17 points, Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell hit for 13 each, Lonnie Walker IV scored 11 and Jakob Poeltl amassed 10 rebounds, 13 rebounds and five assists.
San Antonio’s Dejounte Murray missed his second straight contest after entering the league’s health and safety protocols on Sunday. The Spurs had a three-game winning streak snapped.
The Spurs were playing the second of a home back-to-back that started with a 144-109 win over shorthanded Detroit on Sunday.
Monday’s first quarter featured six ties and four lead changes before the Jazz took charge for good, building a 34-27 lead going into the second period. Utah pushed its advantage to as many as 15 points late in the second period, but the Spurs cut their deficit to 53-43 at halftime with a 6-1 run over the final 1:05.
Bogdanovic led the Jazz with 11 points in the first half, while White and Vassell paced San Antonio with eight apiece.
Neither team shot the ball well in the first half — Utah at 45.5 and San Antonio at 42.2 percent — while the Jazz dominated the glass, earning a 30-20 advantage. San Antonio was just 1 of 11 from beyond the arc in the first half.
