Clarkson’s Fourth Quarter Comeback Falls Short As Jazz Lose Third Straight

DENVER, Colo. – Utah guard Jordan Clarkson’s fourth quarter comeback attempt wasn’t enough as the Jazz fell to the Denver Nuggets for their third consecutive loss.

The Jazz lost 106-100 to the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on Thursday, January 30.

Things started to unravel when Utah was outscored by 11 points in the third quarter.

Clarkson Cooking

📹| @jordanclarksons with 24 points in the 4th and 37 off the bench ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/kjgt2iMG9K

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 31, 2020

The Jazz went without a made field goal from 4:13 left in the third quarter until Clarkson made a hook shot with 8:42 remaining in the game.

Denver took a 76-70 lead into the final 12 minutes of play and was able to withstand a comeback attempt by the Jazz for the victory.

During Utah’s scoring drought, Denver went on a 27-1 run until Clarkson’s hook shot.

Clarkson did everything he could to bring the Jazz back within striking distance by scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter.

Clarkson is cooking 🔥🔥🔥

— Kyle Ireland (@kyleireland) January 31, 2020

The Jazz sixth man cut the Nuggets lead to 101-98 with 1:32 left to play.

Denver all-star Nikola Jokić scored back-to-back buckets on the next two Nugget possessions to seal the win.

Clarkson finished with a season-high 37 points on 13-22 field goals and 7-12 from behind the arc.

He added 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in 31 minutes on the court.

Utah all-star center Rudy Gobert scored 21 points on 9-10 shooting. He added 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 3 blocks in 37 minutes. Gobert posted a team-high plus-minus rating of +3.

ʰᵒᵒᵏ pic.twitter.com/zp9SZNXQ8C

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 31, 2020

Tough Night For Spida

Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell didn’t look like himself against the Nuggets. He struggled for the majority of the night and didn’t score until 4:05 left in the fourth quarter.

It was the first time since October 21, 2017, that Mitchell had scored in the first three quarters a game.

Mitchell finished the game with 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists in 35 minutes. He shot 1-12 from the field and 0-6 on three-pointers.

This legitimately might be the worst game of Donovan Mitchell's career.

He's just completely out of sorts.

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 31, 2020

Utah forward Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 points on 6-10 from downtown.

The Jazz shot 46.2 percent on field goals and 45.9 percent on threes in the loss.

The Joker

Denver outshot the Jazz by shooting 47.1 percent overall despite 33.3 percent on triples.

Jokić got things rolling in the second half after scoring only six points in the first half.

The Nuggets center ended the game with 28 points on 11-19 field goals. He added 4 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals in 35 minutes on the floor.

Nikola Jokic scored 11 straight points in the last 5 minutes of tonight's game as they stave off the Jazz's furious comeback.

The Joker has 93 points in the last 5 minutes of games within 5 points this season, shooting a league-best 55.4% (min 50 attempts). pic.twitter.com/bM5HMfEY5b

— StatMamba (@statmuse) January 31, 2020

What The Loss Means

Denver took control of the Northwest Division with the victory. The Nuggets improved to 33-15 on the season while the Jazz fell to 32-16.

Utah has lost its last three games to Houston, San Antonio, and Denver. It’s the first time since early December 2019 that the Jazz have lost three straight.

Up Next

The Jazz close a three-game road trip against the Portland Trailblazers on Saturday, February 1. Utah and Portland are scheduled to tip-off at 8:30 p.m. (MDT). The game will broadcast on NBA League Pass, AT&T SportsNet, and 97.5 FM.