Ace Bailey shows all sides of his game in Jazz’s loss to Sixers
The rookie followed up a career best offensive game on Thursday with a impactful defensive performance on Saturday
Utah Jazz forward Ace Bailey, left, defends Philadelphia 76ers forward Trendon Watford (12) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Anna Fuder) | Anna Fuder Ace Bailey’s Thursday night performance of a career-best 33 points against the Milwaukee Bucks, which included shooting a single game Jazz franchise record 19 3-point attempts, had everyone talking. Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy called the shot volume “crazy,” and Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse brought it up ahead of the Sixers’ game against Utah at the Delta Center on Saturday night.
“Obviously, he’s not afraid to shoot, not afraid to shoot high volume 3s,” Nurse said. “He got 19 of them up the other night... I think it goes back to his ability, with his length and his size and his release and all that stuff that he can actually find those and get them up.
” But, on Saturday, Bailey used his length, size and athleticism to impact the game on the other side of the ball, too. In a 126-116 loss to the Sixers, Bailey finished with a game-high tying 25 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists, but the stat that stood out was his five blocks, a career high, which he racked up in just three quarters. “Shoo!
I might be a big,” Bailey said with a laugh. “I already told Nurk (Jusuf Nurkić) and Walker (Kessler). I was just talking to Walk and he said I’ve got three more to catch him.