Jordan Clarkson Torches Hawks As Jazz Move To 7-1

SALT LAKE CITY – After one of the most miserable first halves in recent Utah Jazz memory, Jordan Clarkson flushed his early-season struggles down the drain and torched the Atlanta Hawks with a stellar 25 point second half.

Clarkson finished the game with a season-high 30 points on 10-19 shooting including 4-10 from the three-point line as the Jazz handed the Hawks their first loss at home this season.

Trae Young led the Hawks with 21 points but needed 20 shots to get there as the Jazz moved to 7-1 on the season with the 116-98 victory.

First Quarter:

The Jazz offense struggled to open the game without Donovan Mitchell as the team managed to shoot just 5-20 in the first quarter.

Jordan Clarkson’s shooting struggles carried over from the last two games with an 0-4 start in the first quarter despite some good looks at the rim.

🚨 Mountain Mike 🚨@mconley11 knocks down the triple before the buzzer.#TakeNote #UTAvsATLhttps://t.co/2icFMj1D21

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 5, 2021

Quin Snyder opted to play Trent Forrest instead of Jared Butler in the first quarter, and while Forrest is comfortable running the offense, he doesn’t steady the Jazz poor shooting.

Six turnovers in the first quarter didn’t help the offense, but a late three from Mike Conley to beat the buzzer helped the Jazz trail just 16-15 after one.

Second Quarter:

Clarkson goes 0-5 from the three-point line in the first half to bring his streak to 23 straight misses from deep. He did get a layup to go in the second quarter, but finished the first half shooting just 1-8 from the floor for five points.

Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert were the stars for the Jazz offensively combining for 20 points on 7-11 shooting.

.@Joeingles7 got ‘em with the fake.#TakeNote @kslsports
📷: AT&T SportsNet pic.twitter.com/jIzb0EwFdw

— Kyle Ireland (@kyleireland) November 5, 2021

De’Andre Hunter has 12 points for the Hawks who also struggled form the floor shooting just 36 percent from the field and 2-16 from three.

The Jazz trailed the Hawks 40-39 at the break.

Third Quarter:

Despite the rough first half, Clarkson exploded in the second half after finally seeing a three-pointer go down. The Sixth Man of the Year ended his consecutive miss streak at 23 by hitting two threes in the third quarter.

Clarkson had 15 points and an assist in the quarter to help the Jazz offense get back on track.

The lineup of Trent Forrest, Clarkson, Royce O’Neale, Eric Paschall, and Hassan Whiteside gave the Jazz a big boost of energy as the team shot 14-23 in the third to take a 75-74 lead into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter:

After scoring 15 in the third quarter, Clarkson continued his red-hot pace adding another 10 in the fourth quarter to help the Jazz run away from the Hawks.

JC caught fire 🔥😅#TakeNote #UTAvsATL https://t.co/uR2F5nzjR9

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 5, 2021

The “Flamethrower” hit a series of near-impossible shots including a shot clock-beating three in the corner to eliminate any doubt that he had fully broken out of his funk.

But it wasn’t just Clarkson who caught fire, the Jazz got makes from Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale in the final period which led to a 77 point second half while holding the Hawks to just 58 points as the Jazz won 116-98.

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