- East beat West 211-186 and record tumble on Sunday night
- Anthony Davis says players fear injury during game
The NBA wanted more competition. It got more points instead – more than ever before. And once again, the All-Star Game was all offense and no defense.
The Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 on Sunday night, with the winners putting up the most points in the game’s 73-year history. The previous mark was 196 by the West in 2016.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver wanted more competition as television ratings for the game have plummeted in recent years, and his displeasure was obvious afterwards. “And to 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 smashed the record of 374 set in 2017, while the East made 42 three-pointers to break the mark of 35 set by Team LeBron in 2019. The sides combined for 193 points in the first half to break the record of 191 set last year, and the East tied a record by scoring 104 by the intermission.
All-Star MVP Damian Lillard scored 39 points for the East, while Jaylen Brown had 36 and Tyrese Haliburton from the home town 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 were from everywhere. Lillard pulled up from halfcourt in the third quarter – and scored. Luka Doncic tried a shot from about 70 feet late in the first half; it hit near the top of the backboard. Towns even threw an alley-oop to Stephen Curry; the Warriors star is much more of a shooter than a dunker, so he simply laid it in instead.
Defense was optional, sometimes accidental.
Haliburton had five 3-pointers in a 1:32 span in the first quarter, helping the East take a 53-47 lead after the opening 12 minutes.
Silver and other league executives were seeking a more competitive All-Star Game after last season’s 184-175 matchup was widely panned for its lack of defense.