Some ‘telekinesis’ gives the Utah Jazz their first home win with a 115-113 victory over the Mavericks

SALT LAKE CITY — Jordan Clarkson shrugged Michael Jordan.

Honestly, it was the only appropriate response after the 3-pointer he had just hit. Clarkson almost committed a backcourt foul, almost committed a double dribble, then almost ran out of the shot clock. Instead, his off-balance running 3-pointer from the wing went in.

Shrug your shoulders.

He could have done the same in the end too.

Clarkson caught Dallas in a preswitch and zipped a pass to a wide open John Collins under the rim. His uncontested two-handed slam with 6.4 seconds left ended up being the game-winning bucket in Utah’s 115-113 win over the Mavericks.

Luka Doncic was on Collins down low for the final possession. Dallas seemed to anticipate Collins running up to pick off Clarkson, so Quentin Grimes started tricking the wing to meet him and Doncic had his eyes on the corner.

The problem? Collins didn’t go up and led him all alone in the most dangerous place on the field.

“I’m just glad that me and John had some, like telekinetic actions going on,” Clarkson said. “I mean, he just read my eyes and knew what I was looking for.”

“Me and JC were like looking at each other, ‘You want to be open?'” Collins said with a smile. “You can see JC say (with his eyes), ‘No stay, Here you go.’ And it was like a great play that shows our chemistry. We always had a JC-to-JC connection, finished the play, and we finally got a home win.

The final dunk capped a 28-point night for Collins, who continued his strong recent form.

He scored Utah’s final two buckets after it appeared the game was going away from the home team. A strong third quarter – a rarity for the Jazz this season – had Utah up by 16 points early in the fourth quarter. Then Doncic led Dallas all the way back.

The Dallas star scored 37 points and had nine assists last night. His assist to Derrick Lively with 1:33 left gave the Mavericks a 2-point lead.

At the time, Utah was without Lauri Markkanen, who missed the end of the game after being hit in the eye (he tried to come back, but by the time he got to the tunnel the game was a blur), and didn’t seem to have an answer to a rising Mavericks team.

Clarkson and Collins provided one.

“JC and John were incredible down the stretch,” Hardy said. “Their poise really stood out. JC, made big plays. John made big plays all night. His energy is infectious for us.”

After knocking down a bucket, Clarkson finished a 3-point play at the other end. Then Collins rebounded a blocked Clarkson floater for a dunk to put Utah up by 3 with 36.7 seconds left.

Klay Thompson tied the game on a wing triple, but that only set up Clarkson and Collins’ final play.

“They got confused as to whether they switched or not – kind of two guys went back out towards the corner and JC threw him a dart,” Hardy said. “But it’s JC and John who understand the moment together.”

Clarkson finished with 20 points and four assists, and Collin Sexton had 16 points and five rebounds. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points before exiting and Kyle Filipowski scored 11 of his 14 points during a strong second quarter.

The Jazz had six players in double figures.

“Tonight isn’t about the X’s and O’s pieces, the tactical piece. It was about the mental and physical toughness the team showed throughout and really stuck with it against a good team tonight. That’s what we’re looking for after,” Hardy said.