Life in the NBA can be an up and down expirence and Florida Gator legend Walter Clayton Jr. has been finding that out firsthand. His Utah Jazz have been fighting to stay afloat, and Clayton Jr. has been averaging 16 minutes a night off the bench.
But for one night, Clayton Jr. was able to turn back the clock and look like his old Gator self as he had his second-most points in a single NBA game and helped the Jazz pull off one of the bigger upsets of the NBA season thus far.
Walter Clayton Jr. scores 17 points in Jazz win
On paper, it looked like another ho-hum night in the NBA as Utah took on San Antonio, who entered Saturday’s game on an eight-game winning streak. The Spurs jumped out to an early ten-point lead when Clayton Jr. checked in during the 2nd quarter.
He hit a 17-footer right away, then had back-to-back assists, then hit a floater, and when he hit another floater with 5:37 left in the 2nd quarter, the Jazz had clawed back and taken the lead. Clayton Jr. closed out the quarter with a steal, another assist, a 16-footer with an And-1, and two more free throws.
The half ended with Utah up 70-60, and Utah went on to finish the upset and win 127-114.
Clayton Jr. was 6-6 on the night, including 2-2 from three, and was 3-3 from the free throw line. Throw in five assists and no turnovers, and he was a game-high +22 on the night while on the floor.
It’s a much-needed confidence boost for Clayton Jr., who played just nine minutes the night before against Detroit and had zero points in that game. On the season, Clayton Jr. is averaging 6.4 points per game and 3.2 assists. He is still finding his shooting stroke and is shooting just 30.6% from three, though it is trending upwards, and he has shot 34.3% from three in December.
The Jazz are now 12-19 on the season and are currently tied for the last play-in round spot in the NBA playoffs.