Gordon Hayward took yet another step forward in his sixth NBA season, and his third as a full-time starter for the Utah Jazz.

As he looks forward to season No. 7, we’re taking a look back at his Top 5 best performances from Year 6. Coming in at No. 4 was a terrific clutch performance and an overall tremendous game from No. 20 in an impressive win over the Chicago Bulls.

No. 4: Clutch G-Time Carries Jazz

Gordon Hayward was on a mission last season to validate his status among the elite players in the NBA. On Feb. 2 against the Chicago Bulls, G-Time put together a monster performance to help the Jazz win three in a row for the first time of the season.

No. 20 drilled the game-tying shot late in regulation and coupled that with a timely defensive play to force overtime. G continued to go off after the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of Utah’s 12 points in the extra frame to help his squad earn a 105-96 victory at home.

“I think I’m an elite player in this league,” Gordon said after posting a double-double in the victory. “For me, it’s just all about winning. Winning basketball games. It feels good to win the first three in a row.”

Chicacgo Bulls v Utah Jazz

Hayward finished the night leading both teams in three major stat categories. G-Time posted a game-high 27 points, 12 boards and seven assists in the impressive victory over a star-laden Bulls team featuring Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol.

Head coach Quin Snyder was awed by Gordon’s stellar effort that helped propel the Jazz to victory. Snyder took notice of No. 20’s tenacious approach on the court, both offensively and defensively, and discussed the growth he has seen from Utah’s star player.

“He’s been willing to take hard shots. He’s been willing to put himself out there and, over time, when you’re as good as he is, you’re just going to succeed and you’re going to keep getting better,” Snyder said. “We’re seeing a guy that’s not afraid to continue shooting when he misses a couple shots. A guy who is going to try to guard their best player and isn’t worried about his own game. He’s worried about the team, and you’re seeing a great competitor right now…he’s getting better and I think he can feel that growth occurring.”

It took a little for Hayward to get going in this one, but the Jazz still hung around with the Bulls in the opening frame. Gordon’s technical free throw tied the game at five early on, and a pair of freebies 4:18 into the first put the Jazz up 21-17. However, the Bulls went on to make a few key shots and tie things up at 26 going into the second.

Chicago started the second quarter on a 5-0 run, but timely back-to-back trifectas from Trey Burke and Rodney Hood put Utah back in front by one. The trey parade continued as G-Time connected with Raul Neto for a three at the 7:30 mark to take a 37-31 edge. About a minute later, Hayward joined in and knocked down a triple off a nice feed from Trevor Booker to extend the lead to nine and cap off a 14-0 run.

Chicacgo Bulls v Utah Jazz

The Bulls came right back with a 10-0 run of their own and Butler’s attempt from beyond the arc with 4:43 left in the half put Chicago back up by one. The strong close to the frame gave Chicago a 51-47 lead going into the locker room.

G got going early in the third quarter as he followed his own miss on a pull-up jumper for a tip-in that trimmed the deficit to two points. The Bulls tried their best to pull away but No. 20 kept his team alive with a solid offensive display. After dishing out a couple nice assists, Hayward’s jumper cut the Bulls lead to 62-59 with 5:54 to play in the period.

At the end of three, the Bulls held a 68-67 advantage, but G-Time’s clutch display down the stretch continued to keep his team afloat. With 5:30 remaining in regulation and the score knotted at 79, No. 20 converted from 12 feet out to put his team back in front.

With 3:54 left in the quarter, Hayward made a heads-up play when he snatched a rebound in traffic and flipped it out to Hood, who drained a triple to tie the game at 84. After Gasol responded on the other end with a successful jumper, Gordon corralled the offensive board on Utah’s ensuing possession and tipped it home to tie the game.

“He took the ball and decided by himself that we weren’t going to lose,” Neto said. “He carried us tonight.”

Rose came through with a huge three-pointer with 18.5 to play to put the Bulls ahead 93-90 but the Jazz continued to fight behind a terrific effort from Gordon. H20 drove to the bucket and drew a foul on Butler to get to the line. He made his first attempt and missed the second, but a terrific play by Derrick Favors and Chris Johnson helped Utah retain possession.

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Following a timeout, the ball was in G’s hands again with 8.5 left on the clock. Gordon took the inbound and bolted through the lane. He got off the tough layup through contact and over the long arm of Gasol to tie the game 93.

The next play featured exceptional defense from Hayward, as he shadowed Butler while the Bulls were trying to inbound. H20 alertly tipped the inbound pass, which landed out of bounds, and after review it was determined that Butler touched the ball last, giving Utah a chance at a potential game-winner. However, G-Time was off the mark on his final shot from the baseline and overtime was needed to decide this one.

“He’s made a believer out of people that are around him,” Snyder said of Gordon. “I think he’s just dug in. He has had to put a team on his back. Not just the scoring, the emotional part of it. I’ve asked even more of him defensively with those guys out.”

Hayward opened the extra frame with a nifty one-handed bounce pass to Favors, who knocked down a pull-up jumper to put Utah up. After the Bulls tied it again, Gordon continued to impress as he faked a shot and got one of the premier defenders in the league in Butler to jump. As Butler came down, No. 20 banked home a short jumper to give Utah a 97-95 advantage.

G-Time put the Jazz up by four when he nailed a 16-foot jump shot with 2:13 to play in OT. With about a minute remaining, Hayward all but sealed the deal when Ingles dished a bounce pass to Utah’s star, who took it to the rim and emphatically flushed home the slam. The energizing dunk got the home crowd rocking.

“Fans were tremendous, they carried us through there,” Gordon said. “It’s good to finally win an overtime game. We’ve been needing one of those.”

Utah held on for the win as Gordon capped it off with two late free throws to put the Jazz ahead 105-96 with 22 seconds remaining. Hayward and Co. had previously struggled in overtime and late-game situations against good teams but tonight was a different story.

The clutch win for Gordon and his teammates helped them gain confidence as they rattled off four more wins in a row to make it a season-high seven-game win streak going into the All-Star Break.

“We fought, everybody’s seen that from us all year, it was just good to close one out tonight,” Gordon said. “I thought we executed well defensively in overtime, we executed on offense, we had guys step up. It was tremendous, and got the win.”