INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NBA preferred far more levels of competition. It obtained more points instead — additional than at any time before.
And the moment all over again, the All-Star Recreation was all offense.
The Jap Conference conquer the Western Convention 211-186 on Sunday evening, with the winners placing up the most details in the game’s 73-yr history. The past mark: 196 by the West in 2016.
“We experienced fun,” East captain Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks said.
It was a flurry of information: The complete factors of 397 smashed the file of 374 set in 2017, although the East manufactured 42 3-pointers to break the mark of 35 set by Group LeBron in 2019. The sides merged for 193 points in the very first fifty percent to break the any-fifty percent file of 191 set final 12 months, and the East tied an any-50 % history by scoring 104 by intermission.
All-Star MVP Damian Lillard of the Bucks scored 39 points for the East, when Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics experienced 36 and Tyrese Haliburton from the hometown Indiana Pacers finished with 32.
“To be capable to have this sort of accomplishment, it is special,” Lillard said.
Most likely unnoticed: Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves scored 50 points for the West in just 28 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder scored 31 details for the West.
“The shot-creating from the East was extraordinary,” West ahead Kevin Durant claimed. “Hard to enjoy defense when somebody’s shooting 30-, 40-footers over you.”
The West scored a ton of factors, far too: At 186, it experienced the fourth-most by any crew in All-Star heritage. And of course, the most ever in a reduction.
The highlights have been from everywhere you go. Lillard pulled up from halfcourt in the 3rd quarter — swish. Luka Doncic attempted a shot from about 70 ft late in the 1st fifty percent it hit close to the major of the backboard. Cities even threw an alley-oop to Stephen Curry the Warriors star is significantly more of a shooter than a dunker, so he basically laid it in instead.
The only drama in the fourth was about the history — and seriously, that was not in question. The East had 160 factors through a few quarters, only needing 37 extra to set the workforce All-Star history.
Brown’s 3-pointer with 1:54 remaining broke the mark, offering the East 197. Haliburton manufactured the shot that despatched a scoreboard to the 200-stage mark for the initial time in any form of official NBA historical past, connecting from deep with 1:27 still left.
Lillard said the East wanted the record.
“Everybody was inquiring what the file was,” Lillard claimed. “We observed out and went immediately after it.”
And Lillard finished it in model — a 44-footer to shut the scoring. He built 11 3-pointers on the night time, with the formal length of those people recorded at 347 feet. A standard NBA 3-pointer is 24 or 25 toes Lillard averaged 31 1/2 toes on his 3s Sunday evening.
Durant explained he was observing Lillard on the West bench whilst sitting down with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard. “We were being in awe,” Durant explained.
Protection was optional, from time to time accidental. There ended up 14 steals, most of these coming off wayward passes. And there have been even a few blocked photographs.
Normally, it was capturing observe. And the tone was established rapidly — Haliburton had five 3-pointers in a wild span of just 1:32 in the initial quarter, aiding the East acquire a 53-47 lead just after the opening 12 minutes.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and other league executives were in search of a extra competitive All-Star Recreation immediately after last season’s 184-175 matchup was commonly panned — and tv ratings plummeted.
Even Hall of Famer Larry Bird, honored Sunday at the NBA Legends Brunch, claimed was hoping the information from the league resonated and gamers took the All-Star Recreation a minimal much more severely.
“I know what this league’s all about and I’m extremely proud of it,” Hen explained. “I’m happy of today’s players. I like the activity they participate in. … I consider it is pretty important when you have the ideal players in the world with each other, you have got to compete and you’ve got to participate in hard and you have acquired to exhibit the fans how fantastic they actually are.”
It had a large-recreation, Finals-type environment — but of course, nothing near a playoff feel. Donovan Mitchell threw a 50-foot inbounds go underhand, Bam Adebayo inbounded a ball off Nikola Jokic’s bottom in advance of dribbling downcourt and making a 3, and Devin Booker went by pregame with a hat on backwards.
Fun was experienced, and LeBron James — in his 20th All-Star Match, extending his record — mentioned there was a person huge takeaway.
“The good matter that came out of tonight is none of the gamers were hurt,” James claimed. “Everybody came out unscathed.”
Apart from the scoreboard, perhaps.
UP Up coming
The 74th NBA All-Star Sport is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2025, at Chase Heart in San Francisco, the residence of the Golden State Warriors. It’ll be the to start with time for the video game in the Bay Location because 2000.
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