Steve Popper: Knicks' Jordan Clarkson comes off bench to help shake club out of stupor against Jazz
Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson reacts to making a three-point shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. Credit: AP/Tyler Tate
SALT LAKE CITY
Early in the game Wednesday night the Knicks called timeout with little going right, and for a moment after trying to figure out just what was going wrong, they all seemed to focus on the scoreboard at the Delta Center where the Utah Jazz presented a video tribute to Jordan Clarkson, who stood behind his teammates, trying his best not to shed a team.
Maybe the most important thing about the moment was it served a reminder for the Knicks coaching staff to throw the little-used veteran into the game which was desperately in need of a spark. And after a lifeless performance had put the Knicks in an 18-point hole to the skeleton crew of a squad bound for the lottery, Clarkson rose from the bench and added one more highlight to his resume in the city.
Clarkson, who had scored just 16 points since the All-Star break in a total of 27 minutes, entered and provided an unlikely spark, leading a second-half comeback that turned into a one-sided 134-117 win.
“It was amazing,” Clarkson said afterward. “Just being back here, being back in Utah, feeling the love, this city, this organization, everybody man, showing me love, accepting me when I got here. I still feel the love now. . . . I mean, that was pretty heartwarming. I tried to hold my tears in, just feeling the love it was amazing.”
It was that even for the Utah fans with a tint of nostalgia for a player who spent six years with the team, winning Sixth Man of the Year honors five years ago, as he poured in a season-high 27 points in 26 minutes.
The tribute brought back memories and Clarkson has had little opportunity to make more in his first season in New York. Expected to provide scoring punch off the bench he has seen his role reduced as the season has worn on. But before the game began, Knicks coach Mike Brown said assistant Maurice Cheeks had told him that it might be a night to shake the dust off.
“Mo said earlier today, he said, we got to find a way to get Jordan in the game because he can have a big one for us tonight, we may need it,” Brown said. “And Mo is the prophet. He was right on target with it. We needed it every single thing that Jordan brought to the table tonight.”
It wasn’t just Clarkson. The Knicks retreated to the locker room and received a not-so-kind message from the coaches and then rewound it among themselves.
The message?
“Get our [expletive] together,” Clarkson said.
Jalen Brunson turned his game around after a 1-for-8 first half with three turnovers, scoring 15 points in the third quarter and finishing with 28 points. OG Anunoby awakened with 22 points and Karl-Anthony Towns, who was the lone player to perform in the first half, had 21 points. Without Josh Hart, who sat with a sore left knee, the Knicks needed it from somewhere.
But Clarkson seemed to light the fire, not just with his scoring, but with five offensive rebounds. Mostly, what he did was stay ready for the moment rather than pout or sulk with his struggles this season.
“It was awesome,” Brown said. “I don’t know the Jazz organization. For them to play that video, that was awesome that was unexpected for me. I don’t know if Jordan knew about it, that was a cool touch. And then for him to go out and perform the way he did, you couldn’t ask for anything better, And it says a lot about him.
“It goes to show he’s not just keeping his body right but his mind his mind is in a good spot to go do that when you’re down 20 in the first half. So just to see that, you couldn’t ask for anything better. Especially from him, who is a veteran who hasn’t been playing or in the rotation and all of a sudden we need.”
“It’s just who he is,” Brunson said. “He comes in and works every single day. It’s just who he is, what he’s been able to do throughout his career. Just being able to talk to him all the time has been a joy to have him as a teammate and I love him.
“It can be an example for anybody. It doesn’t matter where you are in your career. Things may not be going your way. Continue to work and continue to persevere. You never know when things are going to fall into place.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
