It’s lifted him above his bigger-market, better-marketed peers in All-Star voting, with fans gravitating toward his trench coats and slick handle alone.  And on Wednesday night, it served as an elbow from the top rope,

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominated the Knicks with 39 points, all of which was through only three quarters.

The precise moment when the Kia Race to the MVP got real was last Sunday when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander swatted away a layup attempt by Jayson Tatum, another Kia MVP contender, in the tense fourth-quarter moments of Oklahoma City vs. Boston.