“I’m Not Changing Anything” | Clarkson Leads Utah To Victory With Career Performance | Utah Jazz

Once Mike Conley’s playing career is over, he should consider staying involved in the game as a coach.

While it’s unknown if that’s ever crossed his mind, apparently a few words of encouragement and a direct order are all it takes for greatness to happen.

When Jordan Clarkson arrived at Vivint Arena on Saturday night, he was greeted by his point guard, who would not play against Sacramento while resting. So Conley offered some words of wisdom — or a direct order — to Clarkson once in the locker room.

“Get 40.”

Clarkson clearly isn’t a good listener as he did not score 40 points — instead, the reigning sixth man of the year erupted for a career-high 45 points as Utah took down the Kings 134-125 on Saturday night in front of a loud and raucous crowd.

“I’m not changing anything, I’m not really thinking about stuff too much,” Clarkson said postgame. “Just coming into work. … That’s probably the best my shot’s felt all season.”

Here are five things to know following the win:

1.) Jordan Clarkson Caught Fire
Appropriately nicknamed the “Flamethrower,” Clarkson was beyond sensational on Saturday night — proof that all the work he has continuously put in would pay off at some point.

It’s been an interesting season for Clarkson, but somehow he’s responded from a difficult start to emerge better than ever late in the season. Despite struggles from three-point territory for much of the year, he kept shooting from deep, knowing his shots would fall eventually — and in the meantime, he attacked the rim with a vengeance and constantly distributed the ball.

All the hard work and faith from this season culminated against the Kings as his 45 points set a Utah franchise for points off the bench. He shot 15-of-21 from the field and 7-for-13 from three-point territory, constantly attacking and breaking down the Sacramento defense with ease.

This was not a one-off game either, as Clarkson has been great for the past month and a half. But this sort of performance shows precisely what he’s capable of — and is why other teams in the Western Conference had better be wary of the Flamethrower catching fire again.

“Today, in a lot of respects for JC, was a culmination of just grinding through,” head coach Quin Snyder said of Clarkson. “He’s not gonna be on the all-defensive first team, and I think he’d admit that, but he cares. The last month or so, he’s been very deliberate in his work.”

2.) Hassan Whiteside Dominates Down Low
Much like it’s been an interesting season for Clarkson, the same thing can be said of Whiteside and his up-and-down performances. In some games, the big man looks disinterested and has struggled on both ends of the court. And then in others, Whiteside seems as dominant as ever with double-double performances that reflect how talented he truly is.

Saturday night was the latter as he finished with 12 points, a season-high 21 rebounds, three blocks, and a +14 rating in 35 minutes.

Most impressively, he overcame a slow start to dominate in the fourth quarter. When the Jazz needed his defensive presence more than ever, Whiteside found the energy to control the paint with six points and seven rebounds in the final 10 minutes of action.

While all-star Rudy Gobert is expected sooner rather than later, Whiteside’s performance reminded that when engaged, he can take over a game and come up big when his name is called.

3.) No Rudy Gobert, No Mike Conley, No Problem For Utah
Although Clarkson had a career night, he wouldn’t be able to do it alone — especially with Conley and Gobert out against the young and athletic Kings. And when De’Aaron Fox dropped 20 points in the first quarter, somebody would have to find a way to help the Jazz pick up the massive win.

In the end, it wasn’t just one person who helped out. While Clarkson and Whiteside played phenomenally, Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic helped pick up the slack with equally impressive performances.

Bogdanovic, who has been on a tear of late, finished with 26 points and four rebounds. While he wasn’t as efficient as he had been recently, he proved how far he’s come as a scorer by relentlessly attacking the rim and not settling for jumpers — as evidenced by his 8-for-8 showing from the free throw line.

With Conley out, it meant that a lot of the play-making duties would fall on the shoulders of Mitchell — and he responded impressively by finishing with 25 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Much like Bogdanovic, Mitchell did a great job of not forcing the action and taking what the Kings gave the Jazz, whether in the half court or in transition.

“The big fella (Whiteside) had 21 rebounds. … That’s pretty good,” Snyder said. “Jordan’s scoring is in character, Bojan’s scoring is in character. And Donovan did a great job of setting those guys up and then picking his spots late.”

4.) No Late Game Collapse This Time
After what happened on Friday night in San Antonio, it had to feel like deja vu for the Jazz midway through the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against the Kings.

One night prior, the Jazz gave up a 15-point lead with 10 minutes to play in the loss to the Spurs. Against Sacramento, Utah saw its 16-point fourth quarter lead dwindle to five following an 11-0 Kings run with just over six minutes to play.

But rather than pressing and forcing the issue on either end of the court, the Jazz did the exact opposite. They slowed things down, trusted one another, and picked their spots on when to get out in transition and run or to focus on their offense in the half court. But most importantly, they locked in defensively, got the stops they needed, and responded with a 7-0 run to put the game away and secure the victory.

While it may not seem like much considering Utah already had the lead and won, it was a mental hurdle the Jazz cleared on Saturday — one that should pay massive dividends once the season ends and the postseason begins.

“This was a game, particularly when they cut it to 5, that we dug in. … This was a man-up type game,” Snyder said.

5.) Western Conference Playoff Push
If one thing is clear, it’s that the battle for playoff positioning in the Western Conference is going to be as tough and brutal as ever coming down the final stretch of the regular season.

Phoenix has essentially secured the top-seed, but just six games separate second-seeded Memphis and sixth-seeded Denver. Utah finds itself in fourth-place, 3.5 games behind Golden State — who picked up a massive win over Milwaukee on Saturday — and just one game up Dallas, who play the surging Celtics on Sunday afternoon.

Utah’s schedule gets no easier as the Bucks and Bulls come to town this week before they end things with a playoff rematch against the eight-seeded Clippers.

STANDINGS
1.) Phoenix (53-14)
2.) Memphis (46-22) — 7.5
3.) Golden State (46-22) — 7.5
4.) Utah (42-25) — 11
5.) Dallas (41-26) — 12
6.) Denver (40-28) — 13.5
7.) Minnesota (39-30) — 15
8.) LA Clippers (35-34) — 19
9.) Los Angeles Lakers (29-37) — 23.5
10.) New Orleans Pelicans (27-40) — 26