The NBA wanted more competition. Instead, it got more points – more than ever before. And again, the All-Star Game was all offense and no defense.
The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 211-186 on Sunday night, with the winners recording the most points in the game’s 73-year history. The previous figure was 196 by the West in 2016.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wanted more competition as the game’s ratings have plummeted in recent years, and his displeasure was clear in retrospect. “And for the Eastern Conference All-Stars, you scored the most points,” Silver said. “Well… congratulations.”
It was a flurry of records: the total points of 397 broke the record of 374 set in 2017, while the East made 42 three-pointers, breaking Team LeBron’s mark of 35 in 2019. The teams combined for 193 points in the match. first half broke last year’s record of 191, and East tied a record by scoring 104 at intermission.
All-Star MVP Damian Lillard scored 39 points for the East, while Jaylen Brown had 36 and Tyrese Haliburton of the hometown Indiana Pacers finished with 32.
Perhaps unnoticed: Karl-Anthony Towns scored 50 points for the West in just 28 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 for the West.
The highlights came from everywhere. Lillard came up from halfcourt in the third quarter and scored. Luka Doncic attempted a shot from about 20 yards out late in the first half; it almost touched the top of the board. Towns even threw an alley-oop to Stephen Curry; the Warriors star is much more of a shooter than a dunker, so he just laid it in.
Defense was optional, sometimes accidental.
Haliburton had five 3-pointers in a span of 1:32 in the first quarter, giving the East a 53-47 lead after the first 12 minutes.
Silver and other league executives were looking for a more competitive All-Star Game after last season’s 184-175 game was widely panned for its lack of defense.
Anthony Davis, playing in his ninth All-Star game, said the lack of effort from players was understandable.
“Obviously the fans, the league and everyone wants to be competitive, but then you also think about not getting hurt,” Davis said. “Obviously, injuries are a part of the game, and nobody wants to get hurt in the All-Star Game… All these guys here are very valuable to their teams. So there are mixed feelings about it. You try to go out there and compete a little bit and not just be a highlight show. But at the same time, do you really want to see someone go for a dunk and someone contest it and, God forbid, something happens in the All-Star Game when it could have been prevented?
The lack of importance the players placed on the game was clear. Donovan Mitchell threw an underhanded 15-yard inbounds pass, Bam Adebayo inbounded a ball off Nikola Jokic’s backside before dribbling downfield and making a three, and Devin Booker went through pregame wearing a hat to the back.
“I think the best (moment) we talked about was the Bulls and the Pacers (entertainment team of) dunkers,” Davis said. “With the trampoline? They were very impressive.”