It had been more than 15 years since a Utah Jazz player had a triple-double in the regular season, until Jordan Clarkson’s big night Monday.
Coming of the bench, Clarkson finished with 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in Utah’s 127-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Head coach Will Hardy was well aware of the dubious streak, keeping Clarkson in long into the fourth quarter as the game turned into a blowout.
He began the quarter with 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds, but the unofficial triple-double watch began when Clarkson grabbed his seventh rebound and got a bucket with just over 10 minutes to go.
With 8:15 to go, Clarkson grabbed another board, then delivered assists on back-to-back possessions, while the Jazz began a 13-0 run that put them up by 26 points, and the game out of reach.
Still Hardy kept Clarkson in, who got this ninth rebound with 5:33 left. Then he got stuck on nine, hunting rebounds and annoying his coach who just wanted to sit him.
The last Jazz triple-double came in 2008, when Carlos Boozer had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Seattle Supersonics.
That’s how long it had been since the last triple-double: It happened against a team that doesn’t exist anymore.
Ricky Rubio also had a triple-double during the 2018 playoffs, going for 26/11/10 and infuriating opposing point guard Russell Westbrook, who apparently considered triple-doubles his own domain.
It took Clarkson a long time to finally gather his 10th rebound. But after waiting for 15 years for a triple-double, that was just fine for the Jazz.
