Information fall in highest-scoring NBA All-Star Sport – NBA.com

The East defeated the West, 211-186, as information for complete factors, 3-pointers made, subject targets made and extra had been set in Indianapolis.
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NBA wished extra competitors. It bought extra factors as a substitute — greater than ever earlier than.
And as soon as once more, the All-Star Sport was all offense.
All-Star MVP Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks scored 39 factors and the Japanese Convention beat the Western Convention 211-186 on Sunday evening, with the winners placing up essentially the most factors within the sport’s 73-year historical past. The earlier mark: 196 by the West in 2016.
“We had enjoyable,” East captain Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks stated.
It was a flurry of information: The overall factors of 397 smashed the report of 374 set in 2017, whereas the East made 42 3-pointers to interrupt the mark of 35 set by Staff LeBron in 2019. The perimeters mixed for 193 factors within the first half to interrupt the any-half report of 191 set final yr, and the East tied an any-half report by scoring 104 by intermission.
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics had 36 and Tyrese Haliburton from the hometown Indiana Pacers completed with 32 for the East, whereas Antetokounmpo had 23 and Jayson Tatum completed with 20.
“To have the ability to have this type of accomplishment, it’s particular,” Lillard stated.
Maybe unnoticed: Karl-Anthony Cities of the Minnesota Timberwolves scored 50 factors for the West in simply 28 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder scored 31 factors for the West.
“The shot-making from the East was unbelievable,” West ahead Kevin Durant stated. “Onerous to play protection when any person’s capturing 30-, 40-footers over you.”
The West scored a ton of factors, too: At 186, it had the fourth-most by any staff in All-Star historical past. And clearly, essentially the most ever in a loss.
Among the many different information:
• The East tried 97 3-pointers; the earlier report was 90 by Staff LeBron in 2019.
• The groups mixed for 66 3s made and 168 3s tried (earlier information had been 62 and 167 in 2019).
• The groups mixed for 163 subject targets made and 289 tried (earlier information had been 162 in 2017 and 286 in 2016).
“Clearly, it wasn’t excessive depth, in any respect,” Haliburton stated.
Lillard made some historical past, too. He defended his 3-point shootout title on Saturday evening — then gained MVP on Sunday evening. The one different participant to win a Saturday occasion and All-Star MVP in the identical weekend was Michael Jordan in 1988, when he gained the dunk contest in addition to the MVP trophy.
“Dame placed on a present,” Tatum stated, “and I used to be joyful for him.”
Returning to the normal East-West format, the 73rd NBA All-Star Sport produced extra factors than ever earlier than.
The highlights had been from in all places. Lillard pulled up from halfcourt within the third quarter — swish. Luka Doncic tried a shot from about 70 ft late within the first half; it hit close to the highest of the backboard. Cities even threw an alley-oop to Stephen Curry; the Warriors star is far more of a shooter than a dunker, so he merely laid it in as a substitute.
The one drama within the fourth was concerning the report — and actually, that wasn’t unsure. The East had 160 factors by way of three quarters, solely needing 37 extra to set the staff All-Star report.
Brown’s 3-pointer with 1:54 left broke the mark, giving the East 197. Haliburton made the shot that despatched a scoreboard to the 200-point mark for the primary time in any type of official NBA historical past, connecting from deep with 1:27 left.
Lillard stated the East wished the report.
“Everyone was asking what the report was,” Lillard stated. “We came upon and went after it.”
And Lillard ended it in type — a 44-footer to shut the scoring. He made 11 3-pointers on the evening, with the official distance of these recorded at 347 ft. A typical NBA 3-pointer is 24 or 25 ft; Lillard averaged 31 1/2 ft on his 3s Sunday evening.
Durant stated he was watching Lillard on the West bench whereas sitting with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard. “We had been in awe,” Durant stated.
Protection was non-compulsory, typically unintended. There have been 14 steals, most of these coming off wayward passes. And there have been even three blocked photographs.
In any other case, it was capturing observe. And the tone was set rapidly — Haliburton had 5 3-pointers in a wild span of simply 1:32 within the first quarter, serving to the East take a 53-47 lead after the opening 12 minutes.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and different league executives had been in search of a extra aggressive All-Star Sport after final season’s 184-175 matchup was extensively panned — and tv rankings plummeted.
Even Corridor of Famer Larry Chook, honored Sunday on the NBA Legends Brunch, stated hoped the message from the league resonated and gamers took the All-Star Sport a bit of extra significantly.
“I do know what this league’s all about and I’m very happy with it,” Chook stated. “I’m happy with at the moment’s gamers. I like the sport they play. … I believe it’s essential when you’ve gotten the most effective gamers on the earth collectively, you’ve bought to compete and also you’ve bought to play arduous and also you’ve bought to indicate the followers how good they are surely.”
They won’t have competed the way in which Chook wished — however they confirmed the followers lots about how good they’re.
It had a big-game, Finals-type environment — however clearly, nothing close to a playoff really feel. Donovan Mitchell threw a 50-foot inbounds move underhand, Bam Adebayo inbounded a ball off Nikola Jokic’s bottom earlier than dribbling downcourt and making a 3, and Devin Booker went by way of pregame with a hat on backwards.
Enjoyable was had, and LeBron James — in his twentieth All-Star Sport, extending his report — stated there was one large takeaway.
“The great factor that got here out of tonight is not one of the gamers had been injured,” James stated. “Everyone got here out unscathed.”
Besides the scoreboard, maybe.
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