Jordan Clarkson registered Utah’s first triple-double in nearly 16 years and the Jazz avenged a 50-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks with a 127-90 victory on Monday night in Salt Lake City.
Clarkson totaled 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to become the first Jazz player with a triple-double in the regular season since Carlos Boozer had one on Feb. 13, 2008.
The Mavericks trounced the Jazz 147-97 in Dallas on Dec. 6.
Utah, which has won eight of its past 11 games, controlled the play for much of the night and used a 25-2 run in the second half to blow the game open.
Simone Fontecchio led the Jazz with 24 points, including 14 in the first quarter, when Utah took a double-digit lead.
Lauri Markkanen added 17 points, John Collins scored 15, Keyonte George had 14 and Walker Kessler contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
Luka Doncic, who had a first-half triple-double in the December blowout, finished with 19 points, 14 assists and six rebounds.
Kyrie Irving returned from a 12-game heel injury absence and had 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists for Dallas. Jaden Hardy got hot from outside, hitting five 3-pointers and scoring 17 points.
The Mavericks trimmed the Jazz’s lead to 62-55 at halftime and momentarily pulled within three in the third quarter.
Dwight Powell’s dunk later had Dallas within 81-75, but things took a dramatic shift after a Jazz timeout.
Markkanen and Clarkson, neither of whom played at Dallas a month ago, sparked a surge with 3-pointers, and Utah took a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter thanks to a 12-4 run.
The Jazz continued to pour it on in the fourth quarter, scoring the first four points to go up 97-79.
Irving banked in a 3-pointer and then made a layup to give the Mavericks some hope, but the Jazz seized the momentum for good with a 13-0 run to go up 110-84.
After Dallas scored, the Jazz scored 12 unanswered points to blow the contest wide open.
Former Jazz guard Dante Exum, who has played well for Dallas this season, left early with a right heel contusion.
–Field Level Media
