By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Young sophomore sensation Jalen Green stole the limelight from Gilas Pilipinas leader Jordan Clarkson in another edition of the NBA’s battle of the Filipino-Americans.
Green led the Houston Rockets to a 114-108 victory over Clarkson’s Utah Jazz and gave his team their first win of the season in four games.
The electrifying shooting guard dropped 25 big points alongside three rebounds and three assists while Clarkson finished the game with 17 points and four rebounds.
From the get-go, Green immediately put his imprints on the game after schooling the entire Utah perimeter defense with his aggressive penetrations to the basket.
Aside from his relentless attack to the cup, Green also continued his stellar shooting from the three-point range and sank four out of his eight total attempts.
This is already Green’s third-straight 20-point output for the Rockets after scoring 33 points against Ja Morant and the Grizzlies and 22 on the Milwaukee Bucks.
Meanwhile, Clarkson had his share of offensive load for the Jazz but wasn’t enough to extend their winning streak to four-straight games.
Clarkson and the Jazz had the chance to turn the tables around after deadlocking the game at 108-all before Eric Gordon answered right back with a layup deuce.
After the Gordon layup, the Jazz failed to score another basket and fouled Houston’s rookie center Jabari Smith Jr. who iced the game with two clutch free throws.
Smith Jr. backstopped Green with a solid performance of 21 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks while scoring guard Kevin Porter Jr. top-scored Houston with 26 points.
Clarkson and the rest of the Utah squad will have the chance to retaliate against Green and the Rockets when they meet again tomorrow at Jazz’s Vivint Arena.
