SALT LAKE CITY — There’s something about Utah for Jordan Clarkson.
Out of the Knicks rotation for most of the past seven weeks, the reserve guard returned to his old home and put on a show, scoring a season-high 27 points off the bench to help the Knicks recover from an 18-point deficit and avoid an ugly defeat by beating the tanktastic Jazz 134-117.
Clarkson, who spent 5 ½ seasons with the Jazz, got a video tribute at the Delta Center and proceeded to take the fans on a trip down memory lane, flashing the microwave scoring that won him the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2021.
Clarkson’s performance was necessary amid struggles from his backcourt teammates Wednesday, including another disappearing act from Mikal Bridges (five points, 27 minutes, 2-for-9 shooting, benched again in the fourth quarter) and early struggles from Jalen Brunson.
Clarkson, 33, keyed the second-half spurt that turned the tables, and the Knicks (42-25) led for the entire fourth quarter while snapping a two-game losing streak.
The first quarter, though, was a disaster for the Knicks. With Josh Hart out and nursing a sore knee, Landry Shamet stepped into the starting five and the Knicks were summarily pummeled.
They gave up 41 points in the first quarter, with Utah’s Brice Sensabaugh scoring 10 of them in just six minutes, and the Knicks trailed by 15.
It was Hart’s first DNP in more than a month, but he looked like he needed a rest in recent games and the Knicks missed his energy.
The starting lineup Wednesday trailed by eight before the first substitution.
The Knicks somewhat recovered in the second quarter behind Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 13 of his 21 points in that period. But the deficit was still nine at the break.
Then Brunson woke up, Clarkson turned back the clock, and the Jazz returned to being terrible. Brunson scored 18 of his 28 points in the second half. Clarkson shot 10-for-15 in 26 minutes and grabbed five rebounds.
The Jazz (20-46) have treated this season like a family that reached its health insurance deductible. Their players have started racking up medical procedures.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had a growth on his knee removed. Jusuf Nurkic repaired a deviated septum to address his sleeping problems. Walker Kessler had surgery on his shoulder in November. Lauri Markkanen missed his eighth straight game with a hip impingement. The Jazz entered the evening with a 20-45 record, the second-worst in the West and behind only the wretched Kings.
Nobody in the Jazz’s starting lineup Wednesday was older than 22. Ace Bailey, the rookie, is only 19. But they were feisty and hitting their 3-pointers, shooting 14-for-21 in the first half.
Then the Jazz looked their age, especially on defense. The Knicks shot 52 percent on the night, racking up 37 assists compared to just 10 turnovers while scoring 78 points in the second half.
The game began the easiest stretch of the season for the Knicks, with seven straight opponents currently carrying losing records. Those opponents had a combined winning percentage of 31 percent before Wednesday.
Still, the Knicks needed to clean up their turnovers from the previous two games — losses to the Clippers and Lakers. And while it took them a half, they finally got going offensively.
“Just getting back to who we are. Not turning the ball over. Giving ourselves possessions,” Brunson said. “Besides the turnovers, offensively we played OK. We still had a chance to win last game. But just got to be more connected and give ourselves more of an opportunity to score the ball and not turn the ball over.”