JORDAN Clarkson and De’Aaron Fox engaged in an entertaining scoring duel Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) in Salt Lake City, combining for 86 points in the Utah Jazz’s 134-125 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings.
Clarkson scored a career-high 45 points to lead Utah to its fourth win over the Kings this season. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year hit 15 of 21 shots, drained 7 of 13 3-point attempts and made all eight free-throw attempts.
Clarkson, whose previous career best was 42 points, surpassed John Drew’s franchise record of 38 bench points. Bojan Bogdanovic hit key buckets late in the game and finished with 26 points, while Donovan Mitchell netted 25 points with six assists and five rebounds.
Fox wasn’t quite as efficient as Clarkson, but still had a monster night by shooting 15-for-32 with five treys and dishing out 11 assists. Hassan Whiteside scored 12 points, hauled in 21 rebounds, and blocked three shots in a starting role. Center Rudy Gobert didn’t play because of a left foot strain.
In other games, it was the Warriors 122, Bucks 109; Wolves 113, Heat 104; Bulls 101, Cavs 91; Raptors 127, Nuggets 115; Blazers 127, Wizards 118; and Pacers 119, Spurs 108.
Warriors 122, Bucks 109
Klay Thompson turned back the clock with his most points since before his two season-ending injuries, using eight 3-pointers as the foundation for a 38-point explosion that propelled Golden State past Milwaukee in San Francisco.
In a battle of NBA heavyweights, Jordan Poole chipped in with 30 points, Andrew Wiggins added 21 and Jonathan Kuminga recorded his second professional double double as the Warriors won a third straight despite getting just eight points from Stephen Curry.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a team-high 31 points and Khris Middleton 18 for the Bucks, who buried 17 3-pointers but nonetheless were outscored 54-51 from beyond the arc by the hot-shooting Warriors.
