Reliving, basket by basket by basket, Azuolas Tubelis' historic 40-point night

“Yeah,” Lloyd said, smiling. “He had another ho-hum 25 and 10.”

Lloyd was joking, naturally, but the truth of it was that Tubelis has been pretty much flying under the national radar as a potential All-American and maybe even a player-of-the-year candidate all season despite leading the Pac-12 in both scoring and rebounding.

But, maybe, Thursday finally changed all that. Before a rowdy, capacity McKale Center crowd and national late-night ESPN audience, Tubelis led Arizona to a 91-76 win over Oregon by pouring in 40 points, the most a UA player has scored in the building in three decades.

Tubelis also collected nine rebounds, dished three assists, ripped off three steals, blocked a shot and drew nine fouls, going to the line for five and-one opportunities. He made 16 of 21 field goals and took zero bad ones.

“What he did today was … I don’t even know how to put it into words, to be honest,” said guard Kerr Kriisa, who helped set up Tubelis often while collecting seven assists. “I’ve never witnessed anything like this while playing (with a) teammate.”

It was vintage Tubelis, racing downcourt or along the baseline, slipping past countless Oregon defenders, then lofting the ball out of his left hand via layup, hook or jumper accurately into the hoop.

But it was also near-vintage Lloyd offense, with Arizona shooting 53.4% while recording 14 assists on its 24 field goals, passing the ball around sometimes four, five or six times before Tubelis even went up with it.

It was a performance so elevated that it might have approached Bill Walton-level hyperbole, even as the ESPN analyst did his thing from courtside.

“Tubelis doing it all tonight,” Walton said on the broadcast after Tubelis hit 33 points early in the second half. “Just like the water that’s still coming down Sabino Canyon. A masterful clinic reminiscent of Galileo, Archimedes, Michelangelo, da Vinci. He’s done it with every skill imaginable.” Tubelis poured in 27 points on 10-for-14 shooting in the first half, then added another 13 on 6-for-7 shooting in the second.

“Zu’s activity was better,” Lloyd said. “A lot of those baskets in the first half was him just moving a few feet here, kind of presenting himself, and our guys found him in some open pockets.”

Here’s a look back at how, exactly, Tubelis’ career night played out, with comments from Walton as the broadcast played out; from Lloyd, Kriisa and Tubelis during the postgame press conference and from UA associate head coach Jack Murphy on Friday.

First half

(Key: number of points/time/play/resulting score)

2 — 15:42: Makes hook shot from left side (via goaltending call on Kel’el Ware). Arizona 12, Oregon 7.

4 — 14:35: Makes hook shot from left side off pass from Kriisa. Arizona 16, Oregon 7.

6 — 13:58: Drives on left baseline, draws foul from Ware, hits two free throws. Arizona 18, Oregon 7.

Lloyd on Tubelis’ ability to get good shots off with his left hand despite teams knowing he is left-handed: “If you cheat it so bad, he’s mobile enough to make a layup with his right hand. He’s not incapable of that.

“I think he had a few jump hooks today, but a lot of (his baskets) were just catching passes on dump-downs and finishing it really quick with his natural left hand. I don’t think it was anything crazier than that. But lefties throw a curveball at you. It’s a little bit different to play against the lefty, especially a lefty post.”

8 — 12:15: Hits short jumper from right baseline off passes from Pelle Larsson and Oumar Ballo. Arizona 23, Oregon 12.

Walton: “Anytime three guys touch the ball within 15 feet of the basket and all in the span of a blink of an eye, you’re going to win.”

11 — 11:21: Hits layup under the basket off high entry pass from Larsson, draws foul on N’Faly Dante, makes free throw. Arizona 26, Oregon 17.

Walton: “Tubelis is a serious chess player, and he’s just moving beautifully without the ball, and there is nothing the peanut butter man can do about it.”

14 — 8:32: Puts in driving layup from left side off bounce pass from Kriisa, then draws foul from Dante, hits free throw. Arizona 31, Oregon 19.

16 — 5:09: Rebounds missed 3-pointer from Courtney Ramey, draws foul from Lok Wur for one-and-one free-throw opportunity, hits both. Arizona 36, Oregon 25.

Lloyd: “If you’re generally scoring around the basket, usually you’re going to be in tight space. And when you’re in tight space, there’s contact, and it lends to more fouls being called. I don’t think it’s anything more complicated than that.

“He had a number of and-ones. I don’t know — three or four, at least, right? (Five, actually). That’s pretty impressive. You know, the old-fashioned way.”

18 — 4:43: Takes entry pass from Kylan Boswell, dribbles three times while driving within eight feet of the basket, makes hook shot. Arizona 38, Oregon 27.

20 — 4:09: Rebounds a blocked jumper from Kriisa, flips in layup from right side, draws foul from Nate Bittle but misses free throw. Arizona 40, Oregon 29.

22 — 3:18: Takes pass from Kriisa, drives left side, hits short jumper off glass. Arizona 42, Oregon 31.

Lloyd: “I thought Kerr did a really good job of controlling the game. He did a really good job managing their defenses and how they were guarding ball screens, then making a lot of good decisions.”

25 — 1:33: Takes pass from Kriisa behind 3-point line, drives straight and just right of the basket, flips in layup and draws foul from Bittle, hits free throw. Arizona 46, Oregon 31.

Lloyd, when asked after the game to compare Tubelis to former Gonzaga standout Domantas Sabonis: “I don’t think it’s fair at this point. Domantas is an NBA All-Star. But definitely in my mind, Zu is an NBA player. I mean, I’ve coached enough of them. He is an NBA player. The way he moves and runs and just that effortlessness he can play with at a high level is pretty special.”

27 — 0:27: Deflects pass from Rivaldo Soares, Cedric Henderson picks it up and lobs up court to Tubelis, who drives in for a dunk. Arizona 50, Oregon 35.

Walton, at halftime: “This guy has put on an absolute clinic. Moving without the ball beautifully. The post entry passes have been exquisite. Kerr Kriisa is delivering the ball time and time again on the right mark.

“(Tubelis’) ability to finish without having to bring the ball down, not having to dribble, not allowing the defense to ever recover, he’s got the Ducks back on their heels. Their web feet are stuck in the mud night now. It’s like they’ve been swimming in an oil spill and their wings are all molted together and they can’t move.”

Second half

29 — 16:59: Jumper from right side off bounce pass from Kriisa. Arizona 56, Oregon 44.

Walton: “Everything from Tubelis has been in rhythm. No excessive dribbling, no backing in. Ball movement, quick-hitting attack, great offense.”

31 — 16:16: Makes layup off high-post pass from Ballo. Arizona 58, Oregon 44.

33 — 15:22: Hits alley-oop layup on left side on half-court toss from Ramey. Arizona 60, Oregon 47.

35 — 12:45: Lofts in floater from 10 feet off short pass from Ramey on left side of basket. Arizona 71, Oregon 51.

Before scoring again, Tubelis kicked out an assist for a corner 3-pointer by Kylan Boswell, while also dishing inside to Oumar Ballo.

Murphy: “He drives right in front of our bench, and they obviously help to stop the guy who’s scoring every time down. But (Tubelis) throws the ball to Kylan in the corner, and Kylan makes the 3. That to me shows his unselfishness, his maturation as a basketball player, and really the ceiling that our team has, because if your best player is making a play like that, you can go really really far.”

37 — 8:16: Makes layup from left baseline on assist from Kriisa. Arizona 78, Oregon 61.

40 — 7:33: Takes over-the-top pass from Ramey under the basket, draws foul by Keeshawn Barthelemy while making layup, hits free throw. Arizona 80, Oregon 63.

Kriisa: His “emotions are a little bit different. He’s like playing it cool, trying to make some faces and stuff. It’s still cool, but I think if I would have a 40-piece then I would do some dumb stuff.”

It could have been even more than a 40-piece, if Kriisa and the rest of the Wildcats even knew how close Tubelis was to the McKale record of 41 points. Kriisa, Tubelis and Lloyd all said they had no idea about it.

Instead, not only did Tubelis pass the ball away multiple times in the middle of the second half, but Kriisa also wound up hitting two dagger 3-pointers that he later regretted in the final 75 seconds. Kriisa and the Wildcats also did not attempt a shot on their final possession.

“I wish I did know that,” Kriisa said. “Of course, if I had known that I would have given the ball to Zu .”

Maybe it doesn’t really matter all that much. Because ultimately, Tubelis’ performance Thursday will go down as one of McKale Center’s best, no matter what the record book says.

“Zu was spectacular tonight,” Lloyd said. “The way the ball was coming off his hands was something special. ... it felt like everything he was shooting was going in, not even hitting the rim. He just had one of those nights.”