Anthony Edwards on SGA: 'Can't touch him at any of the time of the game'

Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are 2-1 against the Timberwolves this season

Turnovers on more than one-fifth of their possessions is what likely doomed the Timberwolves in Saturday night's loss to the Thunder, but Minnesota's Anthony Edwards suggested that another big factor in the game was the easy whistles OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received from the referees. 

"It's hard to, man, with the calls that Shai gets. It's hard, it's hard to shut him down," Edwards said when asked about trying to stop Gilgeous-Alexander. "Can't touch him at any of the time of the game so it's super hard. That team is a good team, especially when you get calls like that. It's hard."

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points on 10-of-22 shooting and he knocked down 12-of-13 free-throw attempts. The MVP candidate had four free-throw attempts in the first quarter, six more in the second quarter and then got to the line just three times in the second half. 

Anthony Edwards on trying to shutdown the OKC Thunder. pic.twitter.com/46H2LomOot

— SneakerReporter (@SneakerReporter) January 21, 2024

Edwards was held to 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting and he went to the line 10 times but only made six of the freebies. He missed all three of his attempts with 3.1 seconds to go that could've tied the game. Karl-Anthony Towns also had 10 free-throw attempts (made all 10), so there wasn't a distinct free-throw disparity among star players. 

Where there is some merit about Gilgeous-Alexander is in the season long stats. SGA is third in the league at 8.9 free-throw attempts per game, trailing only Giannis Antetokounmpo (11.5) and Joel Embiid (11.9). Edwards has averaged 6.7 free throws per game, which ranks tied 15th in the NBA. 

The reality for Minnesota is that they had the ball 97 times on Saturday and turned it over on 21 of those possessions for an ungodly 21.6% turnover rate. They also blew an 11-point lead in a fourth quarter in which they had nearly twice as many turnovers (7) as made shots (4). 

Jan 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) dribbles the ball around Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) in the first half at Target Center / Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports