NBA Roundup: Jordan Clarkson Erupts for 45 as Jazz Outscore Kings

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (00) looks to shoot in the fourth quarter against Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell (15) at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 12, 2022. Jeffrey Swinger/USA TODAY Sports via Field Level Media

Jordan Clarkson and De'Aaron Fox engaged in an entertaining scoring duel Saturday night in Salt Lake City, combining for 86 points in the Utah Jazz’s 134–125 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings.

Clarkson scored a career-high 45 points to lead Utah to its fourth win over the Kings this season. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year hit 15 of 21 shots, drained 7 of 13 3-point attempts, and made all eight free-throw attempts.

Clarkson, whose previous career best was 42 points, surpassed John Drew’s franchise record of 38 bench points. Bojan Bogdanovic hit key buckets late in the game and finished with 26 points, while Donovan Mitchell netted 25 points with six assists and five rebounds.

Fox wasn’t quite as efficient as Clarkson, but still had a monster night by shooting 15-for-32 with five treys and dishing out 11 assists. Hassan Whiteside scored 12 points, hauled in 21 rebounds and blocked three shots in a starting role. Center Rudy Gobert didn’t play because of a left foot strain.

Warriors 122, Bucks 109

Klay Thompson turned back the clock with his most points since before his two season-ending injuries, using eight 3-pointers as the foundation for a 38-point explosion that propelled Golden State past Milwaukee in San Francisco.

In a battle of NBA heavyweights, Jordan Poole chipped in with 30 points, Andrew Wiggins added 21 and Jonathan Kuminga recorded his second professional double-double as the Warriors won a third straight despite getting just eight points from Stephen Curry.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had a team-high 31 points and Khris Middleton 18 for the Bucks, who buried 17 3-pointers but nonetheless were outscored 54–51 from beyond the arc by the hot-shooting Warriors.

Timberwolves 113, Heat 104

Karl-Anthony Towns made a go-ahead fadeaway jumper with 3:53 left as Minnesota defeated host Miami.

Jaylen Nowell led the Wolves with 16 points. Towns had 15 points and 10 rebounds despite being limited to 25 minutes due to foul trouble, and Minnesota won for the seventh time in its past eight games.

Miami’s Tyler Herro scored 18 of his game-high 30 points in the second quarter. Bam Adebayo added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat.

Bulls 101, Cavaliers 91

All-Star DeMar DeRozan had a team-high 25 points and Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 14 rebounds to propel Chicago past visiting Cleveland.

Ayo Dosunmu contributed 17 points for the Bulls, who had lost five of their previous six games.

Guard Darius Garland paced the Cavaliers with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Center Evan Mobley finished with 17 points and seven rebounds for Cleveland, which ended a three-game road trip with its second loss. The Cavaliers have lost eight of their last 11 games overall.

Raptors 127, Nuggets 115

Pascal Siakam had 33 points, Scottie Barnes finished with 25 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and visiting Toronto beat Denver.

Chris Boucher had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Precious Achiuwa scored 15 points for the Raptors, who won despite Fred VanVleet’s absence to rest his knee.

Nikola Jokic had 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in defeat. Bones Hyland scored 17 with seven assists, Will Barton added 16 points in his return to the lineup, and Jeff Green scored 13 for Denver, which played without Aaron Gordon due to a foot injury.

Trail Blazers 127, Wizards 118

Josh Hart scored 28 points in the first half and finished with a career-high 44 as Portland ended its six-game losing streak by beating visiting Washington.

Hart was 15-for-21 shooting from the field, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range in his first career game scoring 30 or more points. Trendon Watford added a career-high 27 points for Portland, which had been outscored by a combined 194 during its losing skid. Drew Eubanks also scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Washington lost its third straight despite a strong outing from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who scored 26 points, including five 3-pointers. Kyle Kuzma scored 22 points while Corey Kispert had 15.

Pacers 119, Spurs 108

Duane Washington Jr. scored 19 points off the bench, all in the first half, and Tyrese Haliburton also hit for 19 as visiting Indiana swamped weary and short-handed San Antonio to snap a three-game losing streak.

Buddy Hield added 17 for the Pacers, who ruled the first half and held San Antonio throughout the second. The Spurs were within single digits for only a few minutes in the third quarter and never got closer than 10 points in the final period.

Jock Landale led San Antonio with a career-high 26 points while Lonnie Walker IV scored 20 and Devin Vassell had 19. The Spurs, in the second game of a home back-to-back, were without starters Dejounte Murray (left calf contusion), Jakob Poeltl (lower back pain) and Keldon Johnson (rest).