O’Neale And Clarkson Carry Jazz Over 76ers

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz beat the Philadelphia 76ers 134-123 to win their eighth straight game and 19th of their last 20th.

The Jazz were carried by a huge offensive performance from Jordan Clarkson who scored 40 points, his best outing since joining the Jazz in December of 2019.

Defensively, Royce O’Neale helped the Jazz with a big performance on the defensive end, especially late in the fourth quarter against Ben Simmons, and hit three big three-pointers down the stretch to give the Jazz the win.

Simmons had a career-high 42 points taking over for an injured Joel Embiid, but couldn’t keep pace with the Jazz potent offense.

.@JordanClarksons tied the @utahjazz single game record for most threes in a game.

P.S. Jazz have won 8 straight and 19 of their last 20.#TakeNote https://t.co/egqpKZ5ybx

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 16, 2021

Royce O’Neale’s Special Play

O’Neale is often the unsung hero in the Jazz rotation and the majority of his effort is directed towards the defensive end against the opposing team’s best player.

That wasn’t the full case tonight as O’Neale was matched up against 76ers forward Tobias Harris through the majority of the game and the results weren’t always pretty. Harris finished the game with a season-high 36 points on 14-24 shooting, but some of that was due to the Jazz defensive scheme.

The team sold out to keep Philadelphia off the three-point line and did so effectively, limiting the 76ers to just eight threes on 23 attempts. However, it meant the Jazz were playing more isolation defense with O’Neale on Harris who has played at an All-Star level this year.

Royce O’Neale being the 7th best player on your roster is an incredible luxury.

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) February 16, 2021

But, with the Jazz lead falling to single digits midway through the fourth quarter, and Simmons on a seemingly unstoppable run, O’Neale stepped up his defense against the 76ers star and helped carry the Jazz to a win.

Over the final six minutes of the game, Simmons missed all four of his attempts from the floor and failed to get the free-throw line despite his career night.

O’Neale’s low post defense kept Simmons off balance on his patented hook shot resulting in the scoreless stretch and giving the Jazz the win.

“It’s a big thing for somebody to accept the role, and be really good at it,” guard Joe Ingles said of O’Neale’s defensive burden. “He has embraced it. He loves the challenge of guarding whoever it is on a nightly basis.”

A Royce O'Neale appreciation post from your friends at SportsBeat Sunday.@kslsports //#TakeNote https://t.co/R9Q94lXkjr pic.twitter.com/17ZDte2AsJ

— Matthew L Glade (@matthewLksl) February 15, 2021

After missing 10 straight threes over his last three games, O’Neale hit three consecutive three-pointers to close the game and finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals in 35 minutes.

Over the Jazz four-game homestand, O’Neale has had to guard Simmons, Harris, Jimmy Butler, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown. There’s a good chance six of those seven players make the Eastern Conference All-Star team this year, while Harris gets left out purely because there are only 12 spots on the roster.

Jordan Clarkson’s Best Game With The Jazz

Jordan Clarkson had his best game as a member of the Jazz, carrying the team for long stretches despite a very good 76ers defensive effort.

Clarkson tied a Jazz franchise-record connecting on 8-13 three-point attempts, including 4-5 in the first quarter when the Jazz were desperate for offense.

Philadelphia jumped on the Jazz thanks to red-hot shooting from the 76ers starters and led 24-10 before Clarkson became the focus of the team’s offense.

clarkson counter: 🔥🔥🔥🔥#MACU3 | @MountainAmerica pic.twitter.com/7qepzHGBMa

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) February 16, 2021

Though Philadelphia scored 42 points on 16-22 shooting in the opening quarter, Clarkson’s 12 points in seven minutes off the bench kept the Jazz deficit to just seven points after 12 minutes.

Clarkson added another seven points in the second quarter, before his breakout 13 point third quarter gave the Jazz their first double-digit lead of the game, which they carried into the final period.

“I believe in him and his teammates believe in him,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “And he’s confident, to begin with, but I think that takes him to a really good place mentally.”

I’m a big believer that due to Clarkson’s high-energy style of play, he maxes out his efficiency after 25 minutes, and there are diminishing returns with any added minutes he plays.

Clarkson hit the 25-minute mark with 9:04 left in the game but mustered some big plays down the stretch to help deliver the win.

Joe Ingles on playing with Jordan Clarkson.

"I've never played with anyone like JC in my lifetime. On the court or off the court."

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) February 16, 2021

Through his first 25 minutes, Clarkson had 24 point son 12-18 shooting and was +10 in the game. In his final four and half minutes after reach the 25-minute mark, Clarkson managed to attempt just two shots, but connected on one big three-pointer, and hit three free-throws to score six points on borrowed time.

By the end of his run, he was gassed and could barely keep his head up when he was running the floor, but without his heroics, the Jazz would have snapped their seven-game winning streak.

Jazz Ace Test Against East

Each of the Jazz last eight games came against the Eastern Conference, and they aced the test. The Jazz went a perfect 8-0 to start February, and beat five of the top eight teams in the East in the last 10 days.

It’s one thing to beat up on inferior teams, which the Jazz did last year en route to the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. It’s another to beat the top teams with regularity like the Jazz have done so far this year.

The Jazz beat 5 of the top 8 teams in the East over the last 10 days, including the top two seeds

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) February 16, 2021

The Jazz are now 11-4 against teams with +.500 records this season and are a perfect 4-0 against the 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Clippers.

There is no rest for the Jazz, however. The team now travels to Los Angeles to face the Clippers for back to back games on the road. The Clippers are 7-3 in their last 10 games and sit just three games behind the Jazz for the best record in the NBA.