By MARK REY MONTEJO
FILIPINO-AMERICAN NBA star Jordan Clarkson not only led Utah Jazz to a morale-boosting 127-90 win over the Dallas Mavericks but also recorded his first career triple-double to end a long franchise drought on Tuesday, Jan. 2 (Manila time).
The Gilas Pilipinas standout fired 20 points to go with 10 rebounds and 11 assists to become the first player in Jazz uniform to achieve such a feat after 1,256 regular season games – the longest in the entire league history.
The last Jazz player to notch a triple-double in the regular season was Carlos Boozer who scattered 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Seattle Supersonics 16 years ago.
Clarkson’s triple-double also came as a first in more than 40 years for a Jazz player to achieve the feat of the bench or since Mark Eaton had triple-double record of 12 points, 14 rebounds and 12 blocks in 1983.
The former Sixth Man of the Year awardee recorded his first triple-double in his 685th regular-season game and 728th game of his career.
Clarkson started his stint for the Utah Jazz in 2019, after playing alongside late great Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers (2014-18) and a season with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers (2018-2019).
He won NBA Sixth Man of the Year plum in 2021 and NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2015.
Clarkson recently bannered Gilas Pilipinas in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where he helped power the Nationals over Asia’s powerhouse China, 96-75, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last September.
