Happy Festivus! The holiday made famous by the Seinfeld episode "The Strike" lives on all these years later in pop culture. One of the tenets of Festivus is the airing of grievances, where you tell your family members all of the ways they have disappointed you over the last year.
The Utah Jazz, with an 11-18 record going into their meeting with the 11-17 Toronto Raptors tonight, certainly have disappointed so far this year, and they would have earned a strong rebuke from Frank Costanza over their first-half play on Saturday night as they trailed 71-55 at halftime.
Maybe Will Hardy brought out the red sweater and turned up the volume in the locker room? Whatever happened, Jordan Clarkson took it to heart and produced a Festivus Miracle that would make Cosmo Kramer proud. JC went off for 30 points tonight, including a red-hot 4th quarter where he had 16 to get the Jazz out of a 17-point deficit.
Lauri Markkanen was also impressive, with 30 points of his own, and looking fully healed from his recent hamstring issues.
Walker Kessler, playing off the bench once more, had 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks and the team was a +17 in his 25 minutes.
Collin Sexton had 16 points and hit some key free throws down the stretch to seal the game.
Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 32 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, and several strong drives to the basket. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby had 19 apiece, while Gary Trent Jr. had 16 points off the bench.
As the game ended, it was all smiles on the Jazz sideline and they went off into the night knowing that it was the best Festivus ever, as they got to go home and celebrate a win and a few days off before heading to San Antonio on Tuesday night.