Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson turned heads against South Korea and is putting on a show in the 2018 Asian Games.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson is representing the Philippines national team, Gilas Pilipinas, for the first time in his pro career.
After an excellent debut for the Philippines in the 2018 Asian Games, Clarkson continued to turn heads in his second appearance, attacking the South Korea defense with ferocity and keeping his team in the game.
He scored 25 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and handed out 3 dimes on Monday, while playing a team-high 35 minutes.
While he led a furious comeback in his debut that came up just short, he had a similar heroic effect in his second game.
With a barrage of threes, he kept the Philippines in the game against South Korea throughout the third quarter as they lost their lead, though Gilas would eventually fall short 91-82.
Despite the loss, Clarkson’s play was certainly a highlight for them.
Scoring at least 25 points for the second game, he hit four threes in the second half and was able to penetrate the perimeter defense consistently.
Clarkson wasn’t the hallmark of efficiency, as he finished shooting 10-25 (40.0 percent) from the field and 4-13 (30.8 percent) from three.
In his debut, Clarkson was also 10-25 from the field and inconsistent from beyond the arc but going 5-13 (38.5 percent shooting) from three-point range certainly fared better for his three-point percentages, though it was just a difference of one three made.
For the tournament, in which Clarkson has played two out of three possible games, he’s 20-50 (40.0 percent shooting) from the field, 9-26 (34.6 percent shooting) from three and 4-8 (50.0 percent shooting) from the free-throw line.
He’s averaging 26.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 turnovers per game but has yet to record a win with Gilas Pilipinas, who are 1-2 in the 2018 Asian Games and out of medal contention with the loss to South Korea.
He’ll get that chance on Tuesday, as the Philippines national team faces off against Japan.