Jordan Clarkson snickers talking about receiving a flagrant foul: “I’ll probably get a fine for tonight for flagrant”
The Utah Jazz won a close home game against the Golden State Warriors 124-123 on Wednesday. The game may not be remembered not for the last-second shot but for the scuffle that took place in the final minute. Utah's Jordan Clarkson and Golden State's Jonathan Kuminga got tangled after Kuminga blocked Clarkson’s jumper with 24.9 seconds left in the game.
Clarkson was charged with a Flagrant 2 foul, while Kuminga and Malik Beasley were both given technical fouls. After the game, Clarkson laughed about the scuffle.
“I’ll probably get a fine for tonight for flagrant,” Clarkson said. "I literally tried to calm the situation down."
Jordan Clarkson even made himself laugh with that one 😂
(h/t @tribjazz) https://t.co/lZW5cQqHgQ
The video does show Clarkson attempting to deescalate the situation before throwing his hands up in a fighting stance. So, for a brief second, he did consider trying to calm things down.
Clarkson also referenced that the league will try to get some more of his money. This was not Clarkson’s first time getting on the NBA office’s radar. He was recently fined $15,000 for throwing his headband into the stands in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Flagrant 2 fouls usually result in a player getting ejected from the game, and the minimum fine for the offense is $2,000.
The following was released by the NBA. https://t.co/2m7JaGE71P
Before everything went haywire, Clarkson was one of the better players for the Jazz, with a team-high 22 points along with nine assists. He was one of seven Jazz players to score in double figures in the home victory.
The surprise Utah Jazz
No one knew what to expect from the Utah Jazz this season. The team traded away its two best players, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, in the offseason for assets. It is very hard for a team to replace just one All-Star, let alone two in the same offseason. So far, the Jazz are doing just fine, sitting 15-12, in sixth place in the Western Conference and in second place by half a game behind the Denver Nuggets in the Northwest Division.
The team is led in scoring by power forward Lauri Markkanen, who is providing 22.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in his first year in Utah. The Jazz are also getting strong play from veteran Jordan Clarkson, who is in his fourth season with the Jazz. Clarkson is averaging 19.8 ppg and 4.9 assists per game. Both Clarkson and Markkanen, in his sixth season, are averaging career highs this season.