The Utah Jazz saw a pleasant surprise performance out of their fifth-overall pick Ace Bailey against the Washington Wizards on Thursday night; also effectively ending their extended seven-game losing streak dating back to before the All-Star break.
Bailey had a career-high 32 points throughout the night on 63.2% shooting from the field, had a career-high five threes made paired with two rebounds and two steals, also becoming the youngest player in Jazz franchise history to have scored 30 or more in a single game.
For Jazz head coach Will Hardy, such a performance from Bailey was enough for him to consider this game his biggest and best game as a pro, praising not just his ability to score the ball, but making good reads and decisions throughout the night as well.
“It was Ace’s best game as a pro on the offensive side, and a lot of it had to do with the 3-point line,” Hardy said. “He made a lot of good reads, especially coming off hand-offs on the second side, and finding those pocket threes, and knock ’em down tonight. It was a good win for our group.”
Will Hardy Loved Ace Bailey’s Performance vs. Wizards
Coming off of Bailey’s shaky previous performance in the first leg of a back-to-back against the Philadelphia 76ers, where he shot just 5-16 from the field for 12 points in a losing effort, he was able to bounce back in a major way for what Hardy now deems as his best performance as a pro.