Dallas Mavericks rookie Jaden Hardy put up his second 30-point game of the season on Tuesday in the NBA G League to lead the Texas Legends to a comeback win over the Lakeland Magic.
Hardy produced a career-high 35 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and two steals in the 122-120 win. He scored 14 points alone in the fourth quarter as the Legends overcame a 21-point lead in the period to win.
He is one of six players with multiple 30-point games in the G League.
The 37th pick shot 12-of-18 from the field, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range, in 32 minutes. He got to his spots seemingly with ease and was very efficient on offense. He even had perhaps the highlight of the game after dropping Zavier Simpson in the fourth quarter.
SNATCHEDTTTTT 🥴@JadenHardy1 @dallasmavs pic.twitter.com/rpIWU9psLl
— Texas Legends (@TexasLegends) November 23, 2022
The 35-point outburst topped his previous season-high of 33 points on Nov. 5 versus the Austin Spurs. He has played very well during his seven appearances with the Legends this season, and is among the league leaders in a few categories.
Hardy is averaging 27.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and one block on 47.5% shooting from 3-point range. He leads all players in the G League in scoring and is second in total 3s (29), fourth in field goals (64) and 12th in 3-point percentage.
The Mavericks loved the addition of Hardy and view him as a first-round talent. He proved a strong scorer last season with the Ignite and has shown that in a limited sample size this year. Slipping to the second round could eventually end up being a steal for Dallas.
Hardy is using his draft-night fall to 37 as motivation this season and is looking to prove those teams that passed on him wrong when he gets his opportunity. That could eventually haunt some teams.
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