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. The penultimate performance came as his season-high in scoring, but G’s stat-stuffing effort wasn’t quite enough in a double-overtime defeat.

No. 1: Gordon Steps Back, Sinks Mavs in OT

In late-game situations, Gordon Hayward is the undisputed go-to guy for the Utah Jazz and at the end of a thrilling night in Dallas, G-Time answered the call and beat the buzzer in overtime to help the Jazz down the Mavericks.

With four seconds remaining in OT, Gordon swiftly curled around the Mavericks’ defense and drained a fallaway baseline jumper as the buzzer sounded to help his team come away with a 121-119 victory on Feb. 9.

The win was especially satisfying for No. 20 and the Jazz because of their previous struggles against Dallas. The game-winner for Gordon sealed Utah’s first win over the Mavs since 2010 and also marked Gordon’s first career victory in The Big D.

It also gave Hayward’s squad their season-high seventh straight win.

“I’m so happy, man,” Hayward explained. “It’s the first time me and Derrick (Favors) have won in Dallas in our careers. It’s been a long time coming. I was just making a move, and trying to make a play. I just wanted to attack Zaza off the dribble, maybe go at him and create separation with the stepback.”

Utah Jazz v Dallas Mavericks

G finished with the game 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal in perhaps Utah’s most exciting game of the season. Rodney Hood was a key part of the win too, as he finished with a game-high 29 points and hit in important triple at the end of regulation to force overtime.

“[Hood’s] been playing phenomenal,” Hayward said. “Tonight he kept us in the game, [hit] a big 3 to tie it, which probably is a bigger shot than my shot, honestly, to give us a chance, put us into overtime. He’s been a guy we’ve leaned a lot on when we need a bucket.”

Things didn’t look good for Utah early on, and it appeared that they were on track to suffer a 10th consecutive loss at American Airlines Center, before they came alive in the second half.  Gordon struggled to find his rhythm early in the opening frame but did make a nice dish to Hood for a 26-foot three-pointer at the 6:15 mark of the first quarter to trim Dallas’ lead to 16-14.

However, the Mavericks went on a 13-4 run after Hood’s trifecta and ultimately took a 29-21 lead into the second. That lead grew to as many as 15 before G-Time checked back in during the second quarter and helped Utah get back into it. After a pair of makes from the stripe, Gordon’s driving layup off an assist from Favors cut the Dallas lead to 53-46 with 3:31 to play in the half. Utah’s deficit remained at seven after the first two quarters of play, as they trailed 58-51 going into the locker room.

“I think we have a fight in us. It seems like every time we come here they punch us in the mouth early,” Gordon said. “Today, we didn’t let it get to 20 or 30, which has sometimes happened in the past. We kind of just kept hanging around, hanging around, hit some big shots and gave ourselves a chance to win, which is all you can ask on the road.”

Utah Jazz v Dallas Mavericks

The game went back-and-forth throughout the third, though G-Time still couldn’t quite get things going from an offensive perspective. He was just 2-of-12 from the field going into the fourth, and the Jazz trailed 87-78. But Utah’s star was able to brush it off and dramatically help his team down the stretch.

With his shot not working, Gordon played the role of distributor and assisted on three straight buckets from Favors, who scored all 16 of his points in the second half, to bring the Jazz within four. Utah kept clawing their way back, and about midway through the quarter at the 6:28 mark, Hayward knotted the game at 94 when he dropped home a floater from nine feet out.

The two teams traded shots for several minutes, and with 16.9 seconds remaining in regulation, H20’s driving layup made it a 106-105 game in favor of Dallas. After Deron Williams got to the line and hit both freebies on the ensuing possession, Hayward responded with another driving layup to make it a one-point game again.

Raymond Felton got to the line for the Mavs and like Williams, he hit both attempts to put Dallas ahead by three with seven seconds left. With a chance to tie with a three-ball, Utah’s hottest hand, Hood, got the call for the final shot in regulation, and he drained a corner-three with one second on the clock to force overtime.

While Hood saved the game for the Jazz to help force OT, it was G-Time in the extra period.

“We’ve been to overtime a lot this year,” Hood said. “We felt like we outplayed them at the end of the game. So we figured, if we were going to go to overtime, we may as well go and get the win. Gordon made a big shot, and he made some big plays.”

Gordon gave his team a three-point lead with 3:37 left in overtime on a nifty bank-shot for two. A couple possessions later, No. 20 fired a successful mid-range jumper to put the Jazz ahead 119-116. The lead was short-lived though, as Chandler Parsons answered with a successful attempt from long range to tie things up at 119.

Utah and Dallas both made a few defensive stops late, and it all came down to Hayward with the ball in his hands with 4.2 seconds to go. He corralled the inbound and flew off a screen set by Favors like a lightning bolt. The Mavs defense was forced to switch and the big center, Zaza Pachulia, was left trying to shadow No .20.

Gordon took full advantage of the mismatch and stepped back, leaving the Georgian center helpless, as No. 20 buried the game-winner as the buzzer sounded. The victory came at a time when the Jazz were playing their best basketball of the season, and thanks to Gordon, the team was able to keep their streak alive for another day.

“I think we are learning more and more how to make winning plays,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said. “Gordon made the right play, and he made the shot. The resolve that he had to get the ball and to create that shot was terrific.”