Ex-Desert Vista standout, Grizzlies' Brandon Clarke had his season-best game at Suns

The Memphis Grizzlies' sixth man Brandon Clarke came off the bench and piled on their domination of the Suns during his homecoming game in Phoenix on Friday.

The Phoenix Desert Vista High School product matched Memphis starting power forward Jaren Jackson Jr.'s game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds in their 125-100 win.

“I guess it does kind of in a way because I got a bunch of family and friends coming here to watch, so it definitely feels good," Clarke said to The Republic in the postgame about his homecoming. "But yeah, I definitely do like playing here. It’s always fun being able to come back here.”

In Clarke's season-best performance, he scored all of his points in the paint, which was one-third of the Grizzlies' 72 points in the paint to the Suns' 42, and outrebounded them 53 to 35. The Grizzlies lead the league in both those categories. Clarke is his team's leader shooting most of his shots in the paint, and he's the NBA's third-best at 65.2% field goal percentage this season despite just playing 19.5 minutes per game. He added to his average by shooting 7-of-10 from the floor and 10-of-10 from the free throw line against the Suns.

“I don’t know, just out there being me. Just trying to be active, trying to do whatever I can do," Clarke said.

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"Free throws fell today, put in like a bunch of work on those so that feels good to see. But I think our team has played really, really well tonight. We were just all very locked in tonight and won by 25 to 30 points.”

Clarke added that being active on the rebounds and feeding off the performances of his teammates including guards Tyus Jones, Desmond Bane, and All-Star Ja Morant makes it easier for him.

“He came in ready to play. He played at a very high level for us," Morant told The Republic. "Just his touch around the rim, him being able to hit his head on the backboard helped us a lot.

"When teams try to step up, he’s able to slip out, get lobs and then also hit him in the pocket. He’s got a soft floater that he knocks down at a high level as well.”

Clarke has played in five games in Phoenix since his rookie year in the 2019-20 season. In his previous road games there, Clarke averaged 8.8 points and 65.8% FG. His previous best homecoming game was in his rookie year when he had 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds and two blocks.

"He always plays hard in Phoenix," Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks said after the game. "I don’t know what it is. He loves playing in Phoenix. It’s been like three or four years now.

"It was a great game he had, all-around game, rebounding the basketball, setting screens, playing defense really well, and then getting on that rim like he usually does. He’s a big spark plug off our bench. We need him to be like this every game. So I told at the end of the game, ‘Just think every game we play is in Phoenix.’”

Clarke, 26, and his family are originally from Vancouver. But he considers himself to be a Phoenix native as well after they moved from Canada to the Valley when he was three years old.

He was an All-Arizona selection in 2015 when he helped lead Desert Vista to the AIA's former Division I state championship. Desert Vista lost in that game to Tempe Corona del Sol, which was led by Clarke's fellow former All-Arizona selection and current Detroit Pistons big Marvin Bagley III.

After his first two college years at San Jose State, Clarke transferred to Gonzaga as a junior and earned All-America Third Team honors that season. He was drafted as the 21st overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder and was then traded to Memphis during the 2019 draft.

When The Republic asked Clarke if he wanted to drafted by his hometown team Suns, he took it in stride when it didn't happen when they passed over him for one of their future starters in Cam Johnson.

Johnson was drafted 11th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Suns traded their No. 6 overall pick Jarrett Culver for Johnson and Dario Saric, who was on Minnesota's roster then.

But Clarke likes how things have turned out for his pro career in Memphis.

"I kind of had a dream of that one being me, but they (traded for) Cam Johnson," Clarke said. "I don’t think there’s any hard feelings, but it is always fun playing back here and I really do love the city.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Desert Vista products, Grizzlies' Clarke had his season-best game at Suns