Anthony Edwards Says He Views Kyrie Irving As The Greatest Point Guard

Irving reacted to Edwards' praise of him, calling it inspirational.

"It's inspirational, man. The next generation, they're a little different but I gotta give them credit, they challenge us to get better. They challenge us to be the heroes they saw growing up, even when you're playing against them. They get up into your body but also they're gonna see you be special. I have a few relationships like that around the league." 

"There was an interview with Bron Steph and KD where you can hear the admiration can't necessarily be there, but underneath that, we all respect each other and have to toe the line, but I'm trying to win man. I know those guys are the same and we talk like this because we're media trained, but on the court, we're trying to rip each other's hearts out, especially the great ones."

Irving scored 39 points (14-27 FG) in the game, with 15 coming in the fourth quarter to bring the Mavericks close to completing a 28-point comeback in a game where they lost Luka Doncic to a calf injury after the Slovenian put up 14 points (5-9 FG) and five rebounds in 16 minutes.

Edwards put up 26 points (11-24 FG), eight rebounds, and five assists in the strong win, while Julius Randle had another great night in his hometown of Dallas, putting up 23 points (6-13 FG), 10 rebounds, and eight assists. Rudy Gobert had a strong double-double with 14 points (6-7 FG) and 10 rebounds.

This was a tense Playoff rematch between the teams that looked like a foregone conclusion when the Wolves led by 17 points at the half and Doncic had left the game due to injury. The Mavericks were down 28 points with two minutes left in the third quarter, but Irving would take off and make a comeback but fell five points short.

Irving is averaging 24.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.1 assists this season, continuing to excel on the Mavericks in a contract year. He will now be tasked with keeping Dallas competitive over the next month as Doncic will likely miss an extended period to fully heal up from his calf injury.