CLARKSON BIG AS UTAH TRIPS PORTLAND

Clarkson scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Utah Jazz thwarted Portland’s furious comeback to beat the Trail Blazers, 118-113, in a duel of the NBA’s top Western Conference teams on Saturday.

The surprising Jazz improved to 12-6 to move a game ahead of Portland and the Memphis Grizzlies atop the West.

It was a doubly disappointing night for the Blazers, who saw star guard Damian Lillard depart late in the third quarter after he aggravated the right calf injury that saw him miss four games earlier this season.

The Jazz lost guard Mike Conley to a knee injury in the third quarter, and saw an 19-point second-half lead erased before pulling away for the win.

“We’re proud of the way we’ve represented ourselves after 18 games,” said Utah coach Will Hardy. “We believe we can get better. That’s our focus. Like every team, we’re not a finished product yet.”

Malik Beasley led the Jazz with 29 points and Lauri Markkanen added 23 with 10 rebounds.

The Blazers had taken a 108-107 lead with two minutes remaining when Clarkson took control, draining a three-pointer, converting a three-point play and making a pull-up jumper to push the Jazz back to a 115-109 lead.

A tight finish was also the order of the day in Atlanta.

Trae Young scored 33 points and lofted a pass from midcourt to rookie AJ Griffin for the game-winning alley-oop layup at the buzzer in Atlanta’s 124-122 overtime victory over Toronto.