Ace Bailey shines as Utah Jazz drop second game against Philadelphia 76ers

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz dropped the second game on their homestand, falling 126-116 to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Delta Center on Saturday.

Six Jazz players scored in double figures, with Ace Bailey leading with a squad with a 25-piece. In his Jazz debut, Kennedy Chandler followed suit with 19 points.

The loss drops Utah to 21-50 on the season.

battled to the end. pic.twitter.com/foqpabELR4

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 22, 2026

Ace Bailey Continues To Impress With Shorthanded Jazz

With Utah being forced to look deeper and deeper into the rotation as injuries continue to pile up, the No. 5 overall pick in last year’s draft continues to shine.

In addition to his 25 points, Bailey added seven rebounds, four assists, and a career-high five blocks.

The game has really started to slow down for the rookie. When other first-year players might start to lose their legs at this point in the season, Bailey has only gotten better.

Through nine games played in March, Ace is averaging 19.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.3 stocks while shooting 45.4 percent from the floor and 40.2 percent from three.

ACE’S WILD! YOU GOTTA LOVE IT BABY ♠️♥️♣️♦️ pic.twitter.com/cmAUKZnioL

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 22, 2026

10-Day Jazzmen Highlighted In Extended Minutes

Due to the aforementioned injuries, a couple of players recently signed to 10-day contracts have also seen considerable minutes.

Bez Mbeng and Kennedy Chandler were key contributors against Philly, despite the non-guaranteed nature of their situations.

Chandler actually made his Jazz debut on Saturday, playing 37 minutes and dropping 19 points to go with five rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Mbeng was just as impressive, posting 13 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, on over 70 percent shooting from the floor.

In the locker room post-game, Mbeng spoke on his time thus far with the Jazz.

“I just love the game. It’s easy to play with these guys,” Mbeng said. “It makes my job easier, (I get) to just go out and be me.”

first start in the association 🏔️

a very special night for Bez 💜#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/aMSyWttsQH

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 22, 2026

Standings Outlook

Since the Jazz are already eliminated from postseason contention, the next time real franchise-altering stakes are on the line will be at the draft lottery.

So, movement in the standings will remain a focus down the stretch.

Utah is well-positioned with 11 games left on the schedule. The closest team north of the Jazz is still Dallas, with a two-win advantage over Utah as of now. Looking south, it’s still the Kings, whose 18-win tally looks more and more unreachable by the day.

Head coach Will Hardy touched on standings post-game, and how the here and now is more important than some might realize.

‘This is a wins and losses business, and I recognize that. We have to learn how to play winning basketball consistently. Going through hard moments together is going to allow us to really savor the good ones. These guys are a real team. They root for each other. The environment in our building is one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

🚨 ACE BEATS THE BUZZER 🚨 pic.twitter.com/QAJgoDn2wU

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 22, 2026

Jazz-76ers Quick Hits

• Utah’s other key young core pieces, Cody Williams and Kyle Filipowski, struggled mightily against Philadelphia. They combined for 27 points, but shot just 8/29 from the field.
• Utah and Philadelphia each dominated one stat in this game, leveling the playing field more than it might’ve been if the discrepancy was lowered on either side. The Sixers dominated the glass, grabbing 56 rebounds to Utah’s 39. The Jazz made up for that by forcing 16 Philly turnovers, while only giving up eight of their own.
• Taking a deeper look at the turnovers, the Jazz turned the ball over on just 7.9 percent of their possessions (a 95th-percentile performance). On the season, they are a 24th-percentile team when it comes to turnover percentage.

Follow the Utah Jazz with KSL Sports

All Jazz games will be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM). Occasionally, KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM) will also pick up games.

Utah Jazz fans can watch the team’s games next season for free over the air on KJZZ TV and can stream the games through a paid streaming-based platform on the team’s website. KJZZ is currently broadcast on channel 14.1.

Find all of our Utah Jazz coverage here.

Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on X for Utah Jazz and Locals In The NFL updates.

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