Jordan Clarkson and the Utah Jazz had no answer for the fiery shooting of Jamal Murray in a 119-107 loss that enabled the Denver Nuggets to force a deciding seventh game in their NBA Western Conference first round playoff series.
The Fil-American guard had all of his 11 points in the first half but shot 5-of-14 from the floor while having the worst +/- rating of any player at -24 as the Jazz failed to close out the Nuggets for the second straight game.
Clarkson, who played 30 minutes off the bench, had his lowest scoring production of the series. He entered the contest averaging 19.2 points through the first five games.
JC with 11 points off the bench ? pic.twitter.com/RmCr1VYGto
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) August 31, 2020
Utah couldn’t cool off Murray, who fired 50 points spiked by nine threes to keep Denver’s season alive inside the bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
Murray’s final triple came off Clarkson with 51.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to put the Nuggets up 117-107.
50-PIECE FOR JAMAL MURRAY ? pic.twitter.com/2FoR5MLeBZ
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 31, 2020
Game 7 is set Wednesday morning Manila time for a chance to meet the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals.
Clarkson also had four rebounds, two assists and two steals but committed two turnovers. He also made just one three out of six attempts while scoring all of his points in the first half.
Despite the numbers, Clarkson kept his hustle and energy on both ends, as seen with 1:51 left in the first quarter.
After forcing Gary Harris to miss a layup, Clarkson snatched the ball away from Denver big man Mason Plumlee before running on the other end for the layup that extended the Jazz lead to 30-23.
JC with fight pic.twitter.com/WsjLO9es67
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) August 31, 2020
Donovan Mitchell, who has engaged in a shootout with Murray throughout the series, topscored for Utah with 44 points.