Anthony Edwards on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic: I feel like I'm the better player

Christopher Hine @ChristopherHine
Anthony Edwards: “You know how it goes after the break. I know I was out of shape tonight, for sure.”
Asked him if he meant physically or just his shot, seemed to say his shot.
“I tried but it wasn’t there. I mean at the end it came alive a little bit.” – 1:20 AM

Eric Nehm @eric_nehm
Big shot from Anthony Edwards to cut the Bucks’ lead to four, but then the Wolves trapped Lillard at half court.
Lillard to Antetokounmpo, who dropped it off to Crowder in the dunker for his first points of the night.
Bucks up, 110-104, with 35.5 seconds left. – 12:30 AM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
Thunder scored a season high 147 points tonight.
7 players scored in double digits.
SGA: 30 PTS
Chet: 25 PTS
Wallace: 13 PTS
Giddey: 12 PTS
Kenrich: 12 PTS
Wiggins: 12 PTS
JDub: 11 PTS pic.twitter.com/66o5bKaCIz – 11:11 PM

Royce Young @royceyoung
Thunder beat the Wizards 147-106.
– SGA: 30-7-9 (10-17 shooting)
– Chet: 25 and 10 rebounds + 2 blocks
– Giddey: 12-7-3
– Dub: 11 and 5 assists
– Kenrich: 12 (4-6 from 3)
– Wallace: 13 (3-5 from 3)
– Wiggins: 12
OKC’s shooting splits: 60/50/81. – 10:15 PM

Clemente Almanza @CAlmanza1007
FINAL: Thunder 147, Wizards 106
SGA – 30 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds
Chet – 25 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks
JDub – 11 points, 5 assists
Wallace – 13 points
Poole – 21 points, 3 assists
Kuzma – 14 points, 4 rebounds
Kispert – 20 points
OKC is 39-17 – 10:15 PM

Ball Don’t Lie @Balldontlie
Is Ant better than Luka and Shai? 👀 pic.twitter.com/5b4g63B5gl – 10:02 PM

Chase Hughes @ChaseHughesNBCS
Excellent spin by Bilal Coulibaly to get around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plus a tough finish for two. pic.twitter.com/mW88w8Vwej – 10:00 PM

Royce Young @royceyoung
SGA has officially scored at least 30 points in half the games this season.
There are still 26 games left. – 9:49 PM

Clemente Almanza @CAlmanza1007
End of 3Q: Thunder 117, Wizards 81
SGA – 30 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds
Chet – 25 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks
JDub – 11 points, 5 assists
Kispert – 20 points
Poole – 18 points, 3 assists
Kuzma – 14 points, 4 rebounds – 9:49 PM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in 3 quarters:
30 PTS
10-17 FG
9 AST
8 REB
1 STL
1 BLK
1 TO
+38 pic.twitter.com/OHY8SKfExJ – 9:49 PM

Clemente Almanza @CAlmanza1007
SGA gets to 30 points in the final seconds of the 3Q as he likely won’t see action in the 4Q of this blowout for the Thunder – 9:48 PM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 30 points in 41 games this season.
SGA is #1 in 30 point games with 5 more than #2 Luka Doncic. – 9:48 PM

Rylan Stiles @Rylan_Stiles
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s change of pace is just insane. That hesi crossover continues to work to get him through traffic. – 9:40 PM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
If Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is going to score his obligatory 31 points tonight, he’s probably going to have to score 11 in the 3rd quarter. – 9:08 PM

Clemente Almanza @CAlmanza1007
HALF: Thunder 80, Wizards 57
SGA – 20 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Chet – 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks
JDub – 11 points, 4 assists
Kispert – 19 points
Poole – 14 points, 3 assists
Kuzma – 10 points, 3 rebounds – 9:06 PM

Clemente Almanza @CAlmanza1007
SGA vs. Corey Kispert
pic.twitter.com/ohys1dRZ6o – 9:04 PM

Clemente Almanza @CAlmanza1007
End of 1Q: Thunder 41, Wizards 28
SGA – 14 points, 5 assists
Kenrich – 9 points
Chet – 5 points, 5 rebounds
Kuzma – 8 points
Poole – 7 points, 2 assists
Kispert – 6 points – 8:35 PM

Rylan Stiles @Rylan_Stiles
I really like Mark Daigneault going to get Shai Gilgeous-Alexander there. picked up two fouls, but only 6.3 left in the quarter. you are about to take him out anyway, ensure there is no wacky third first quarter foul. Details. – 8:34 PM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 1st quarter
14 PTS
6-8 FG
5 AST
0 TO – 8:34 PM

Rylan Stiles @Rylan_Stiles
What a sequence. Joe stands his ground, gets the steal, brings the ball through traffic, dumps it to Shai, swings it to Kenrich for 3, the crowd goes wild. OKC is up double digits. – 8:32 PM

Malika Andrews @malika_andrews
Anthony Edwards oozes swagger and confidence — and is competitive in everything. Naturally, I challenged him to a game of Jenga while we chat about comparisons to Jordan, expectations for the Wolves and more.
From our @Timberwolves All-Access: pic.twitter.com/TzMtpJlI9a – 7:35 PM

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanHoops
Please tell me someone isn’t really trying to compare Anthony Edwards to Michael Jordan. – 7:20 PM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
Thunder starters vs Wizards
SGA
Dort
Giddey
JDub
Chet
OKC trying for their 4th straight win. – 7:16 PM

Rylan Stiles @Rylan_Stiles
Thunder starters
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Josh Giddey
Lu Dort
Jalen Williams
Chet Holmgren – 7:15 PM

Clemente Almanza @CAlmanza1007
Thunder starting lineup:
SGA
Giddey
Dort
JDub
Chet – 7:15 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Highest +/- this month:
+115 — Ant
+114 — Kyrie
+103 — Spida
+100 — Luka, Steph pic.twitter.com/aFWcfwoXL3 – 5:35 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
NEW video with @SwipaCam!
So…what would happen if Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic ACTUALLY teamed up?
youtu.be/wFFp46Uci0s?si… – 5:05 PM

Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
Luka Mitrovic and Aleksa Avramovic combine for 37 points as Serbia outlasts Finland in Belgrade #EuroBasket #FIBA
eurohoops.net/en/eurobasket/… – 4:00 PM

Joe Mussatto @joe_mussatto
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the best scorers in the world, but since he entered the league, 60 players have scored more points in a game than SGA’s career high of 44.
Story from last week on the Great Scoring Paradox: oklahoman.com/story/sports/n… – 3:46 PM

NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
“Luka is the most dangerous player in the Western Conference. … He is LeBron James minus the athleticism.” 👀
@kendrickperkins on why the Mavs can compete in the West. pic.twitter.com/PEkgkuRyWR – 3:44 PM

Mark Followill @MFollowill
Thursday’s 41 point, 11 assist game by Luka Doncic is the 20th game of at least 40P and 10A in his career. 4th most in the history of the NBA according to @Stathead and the Mavs are 17-3 in those games. pic.twitter.com/ohRYaApSKD – 3:43 PM

Tim Cato @tim_cato
i wrote about the Mavericks’ emphatic, attention-deserving win against Phoenix, the lineup conundrums that the Mavericks and Jason Kidd have for the first time in the Doncic era, and the defensive flexibility that multiple combo wings provides: theathletic.com/5294049/2024/0… – 3:02 PM

Eddie Sefko @ESefko
Luka and Kyrie are rolling together and it’s helping everything, including the Mavericks’ defense.
mavs.com/mavs-suns-take… – 1:01 PM

Adam Mares @Adam_Mares
Excited to be back on the @ALLCITY_NBA show! Come join.
Thunder get another statement win
Luka’s MVP case
Best “style make fights” matchups out West
📺 youtube.com/live/MbNYxiiyx… pic.twitter.com/vyvq13a9IZ – 12:57 PM

Joe Mussatto @joe_mussatto
The Thunder already won the Paul George/SGA trade, but the Clippers haven’t lost it. Not yet at least. oklahoman.com/story/sports/n… – 12:53 PM

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Luka Doncic scores 41 in Mavericks win, also picks up technical for throwing ball too hard back to referee
nbcsports.com/nba/news/luka-… – 12:40 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Left is Jokic in his last MVP season. Right is Luka this season.
27.1 PPG 34.3 PPG
13.8 RPG 8.8 RPG
7.9 APG 9.6 APG
Both as 6 seeds. pic.twitter.com/qLCSPRUzP1 – 11:54 AM

Royce Young @royceyoung
This is an awesome breakdown video from @ElGee35 on SGA’s incredible iso ability. But what’s most interesting is how much smart team play and shifting pieces impacts good isolation. Highly recommend: youtube.com/watch?v=hMMKo7… – 10:33 AM

Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Today’s The Hoop Collective with @WindhorstESPN and @TimBontemps hits on the Thunder’s statement win and interesting lineup switch vs. Clippers, Luka and the Mavs stacking wins while figuring out how all the pieces fit and more youtu.be/aakR_Jx7Ezk?si… – 10:29 AM

Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
Nikola Jokic crossed out the Washington Wizards with a historic triple-double #NBA
Domantas Sabonis and Luka Doncic also gave great performances in wins👇
eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/16… – 5:10 AM

BasketNews @BasketNews_com
Luka Doncic showing his love for Real Madrid 🇪🇸
pic.twitter.com/kmuBjKUECw – 1:36 AM

Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
Luka’s 41 pts/11 asst game vs PHX was his 6th 40-10 game this season. No one else has more than 2 (Tyrese Haliburton). He has 10 40-10 game in his career. Mavs are 16-3 in those games – 12:53 AM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
“Luka hit 3 tough setback 3s over us. You’ve got to live with something with him.”
Kevin Durant on #Mavs 16-0 run to open 3rd quarter in #Suns loss. pic.twitter.com/xYIciHN5aB – 12:32 AM

BasketNews @BasketNews_com
Did Luka Doncic deserve a technical foul for this action? 🤔
pic.twitter.com/1eMFYb8yZY – 12:31 AM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
When asked if he looked to put Royce O’Neale on Luka Doncic earlier, Frank Vogel said Suns switched a lot so primary defender “has little to do with it.”
Said Bradley Beal (hamstring) would’ve made difference because he “can really touch the paint at will” in small ball. #Suns pic.twitter.com/NeSCWmuyJ4 – 12:29 AM

Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Asked Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to discuss the other’s defensive expectations.
J-Dub: “Shai plays really hard… I’m not ever going into a game wondering what he’s going to be on.”
Shai: “Guard the other team’s best player… if he doesn’t do so, I’m disappointed.” pic.twitter.com/wyKK2p59Ey – 12:24 AM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
“Luka against the 5-man is a difficult coverage. He burned us three straight times on it.”
Frank Vogel on #Mavs 16-0 run to open 2nd half in #Suns loss.
“We did get a little too stagnant offensively with iso ball, but we didn’t execute what we were looking to do well enough.” pic.twitter.com/SXzybT469H – 12:23 AM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
UPDATE: Luka Doncic still nightmare, turnovers remain issue: Takeaways from Suns loss to Mavericks #Suns #MFFL #Mavericks azcentral.com/story/sports/n… via @azcentral – 12:13 AM

Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
Luka update: after 41-9-11 (and 4 steals)
31 dbl-dbl.
11th game of 40+
Still has not had 3 straight games w/<30 pts
14th career game missing triple-dbl by one rebound. 34th game missing triple-dal by one rebound, one assist or one rebound and assist.
4 steals tied season hi – 12:06 AM

Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Mavs newcomer Daniel Gafford on Luka Doncic: “To me, he’s the MVP. … Seeing the things he does and Kyrie does, I’m just amazed. It’s like I’m a kid of the candy store because I’m seeing two great players just go out and dominate.” – 11:59 PM

Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
When the trade happened, people wondered whether Luka & Kyrie would work. Said it would work as long as both players wanted it to work. Watching them, it’s pretty clear they want it to work and it is working. 70 pts. 25-45 FG 11-19 3pt vs PHX. Only backcourt with both avg 25-5-5 – 11:57 PM

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
Jayson Tatum on the debate surrounding his MVP candidacy vs. the likes of Jokic & SGA: “There’s been a lot of talk about that the last couple days and those guys are putting up ridiculous numbers every game and doing a lot for their teams. I have no problem with those guys being… – 11:46 PM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
SGA on being back after the All Star Break: “It was a nice little break. It was refreshing to see each other again.” pic.twitter.com/ZsEQfPQtrK – 11:16 PM

Spencer Percy @QCHspencer
I don’t even know how Luka made it until the trade deadline with Grant Williams. Seems like such a difficult guy to play with 🙄 – 11:15 PM

Clemente Almanza @CAlmanza1007
SGA on if nights like tonight can translate to the playoffs: “It’s the same game. It’s still basketball. It’s just everything’s intensified… Everybody wants to win. Everything is just heightened.” – 11:14 PM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on OKC switching up rotations, such as Isaiah Joe starting the second half:
“It’s strategic. Keeps teams on their heels. Throw them a curveball.” – 11:13 PM

Clemente Almanza @CAlmanza1007
SGA has joined JDub pic.twitter.com/poRm36bVDd – 11:07 PM

Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
From one MVP to a potential future MVP. Russ and Shai pic.twitter.com/z0xX2gO832 – 11:04 PM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
Chet Holmgren was asked if he spent time with any All Stars or Hall of Famers in addition to KD at All-Star weekend:
“Yeah I hung out with Shai a little bit.” – 10:57 PM

Clemente Almanza @CAlmanza1007
Chet when asked if he had the chance to hang out with any Hall-of-Famers or legends during All-Star weekend: “I hung out with Shai a little bit.” – 10:56 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
From @KSherringtonDMN:
Luka Doncic, Mavericks keep rolling with playoff-atmosphere win vs. Devin Booker, Suns dallasnews.com/sports/maveric… – 10:51 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Immediate takeaway: Luka Doncic still nightmare for Phoenix Suns #MFFL #Suns azcentral.com/story/sports/n… via @azcentral – 10:51 PM

Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
SGA had 31 points in win against Clippers. He is the first player in Thunder/SuperSonics history to record at least 40 30-point games in consecutive seasons according @ESPNStatsInfo – 10:21 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Luka against the Suns since the 2022 playoffs:
35 PTS | 9 REB | 6 AST
33 PTS | 6 REB | 8 AST
34 PTS | 9 REB | 4 AST
50 PTS | 6 REB | 15 AST
34 PTS | 8 REB | 9 AST
41 PTS | 9 REB | 11 AST
Magic. statmuse.com/nba/player/luk… – 10:19 PM

Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Anthony Edwards bullied Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into shooting 3s and now look – 9:28 PM

John Karalis @John_Karalis
Larry Bird said it was important to compete at the ASG. Anthony Edwards said we shouldn’t expect that.
How did we get here? Is this a matter of right v. wrong or simply times changing?
@Tom_NBA & I discuss on @LOCeltics
👀youtu.be/4vAckL2tieg
🎧Karal.is/audio pic.twitter.com/HWJbJXy5f9 – 8:55 PM