The NBA wanted more competition. Instead, he got more points – more than ever.
And once again, the All-Star Game was all about offense.
All-Star MVP Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks scored 39 points and the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 on Sunday night, with the winners accumulating the most points in the game’s 73-year history. The previous mark: 196 by the West in 2016.
“We had fun,” East captain Giannis Antetokounmpo said of the Bucks.
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It was an avalanche of records: the total of 397 points broke the record of 374 set in 2017, while the East made 42 3-pointers to break the mark of 35 set by Team LeBron in 2019. Teams scored 193 total points. first half to break the record of 191 set last year, and the East tied a halftime record by scoring 104 at intermission.
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics had 36 and Tyrese Haliburton of the hometown Indiana Pacers finished with 32 for the East, while Antetokounmpo had 23 and Jayson Tatum finished with 20.
“To be able to achieve this kind of accomplishment, it’s special,” Lillard said.
Perhaps unnoticed: Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves scored 50 points for the West in just 28 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder scored 31 points for the West.
“East’s shooting was unbelievable,” West forward Kevin Durant said. “Hard to play defense when someone is shooting 30 or 40 feet above you.”
The West also scored a ton of points: with 186, it ranks fourth among all teams in All-Star history. And obviously, the greatest number of defeats.
Among other recordings:
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East attempted 97 3-pointers; the previous record was 90 by Team LeBron in 2019.
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The teams totaled 66 made 3s and 168 attempted 3s (previous records were 62 and 167 in 2019).
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The teams have totaled 163 made goals and 289 attempts (previous records were 162 in 2017 and 286 in 2016).
“Obviously it wasn’t high intensity at all,” Haliburton said.
Lillard also made history. He defended his 3-point shootout title on Saturday night – then won the MVP award on Sunday night. The only other player to win a Saturday event and All-Star MVP in the same weekend was Michael Jordan in 1988, when he won the dunk contest as well as the MVP trophy.
“Dame put on a show,” Tatum said, “and I was happy for him.”
The highlights came from everywhere. Lillard pulled out from half court in the third quarter – swish. Luka Doncic attempted a shot from about 70 feet late in the first half; it hit near the top of the rear panel. 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 down instead.
The only drama of the fourth was about the record – and really, there was no doubt about it. The East had 160 points through three quarters, needing just 37 more to set the All-Star team record.
Brown’s 3-pointer with 1:54 left broke the score, putting the East up 197. Haliburton made the shot that sent a scoreboard to 200 points for the first time in any sort of official NBA history, connecting from deep with 1: 27 left.
Lillard said the East wanted the record.
“Everybody was wondering what the toll was,” Lillard said. “We discovered it and we pursued it.”
And Lillard finished with a bang – a 44-footer to close out the scoring. He made 11 3-pointers on the night, with the official distance of those recorded at 347 feet. A typical NBA 3-pointer is 24 or 25 feet tall; Lillard averaged 31 1/2 feet on his 3 on Sunday night.
Durant said he was watching Lillard on the West bench while sitting with Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers. “We were impressed,” Durant said.
Defense was optional, sometimes accidental. There were 14 interceptions, most of them coming from wayward passes. And there were even three blocked shots.
Otherwise, it was shooting practice. And the tone was quickly set: Haliburton made five three-pointers in just 1:32 of the first quarter, helping the East take a 53-47 lead after the first 12 minutes.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and other league executives were seeking a more competitive All-Star Game after last season’s 184-175 game was widely criticized — and television ratings plummeted.
Even Hall of Famer Larry Bird, honored Sunday at the NBA Legends Brunch, said he hopes the league’s message resonates and players take the All-Star Game a little more seriously.
“I know what this league is and I’m very proud of it,” Bird said. “I am proud of today’s players. I like the game they play. … I think it’s very important when you have the best players in the world together, you have to compete and you have to play hard and you have to show the fans how good they really are.
They may not have competed the way Bird wanted – but they showed the fans how good they were.
There was a big game, finals type atmosphere – but obviously nothing like a playoff feel. Donovan Mitchell threw a 50-foot inside pass from underhand, Bam Adebayo threw a ball over the back of Nikola Jokic before dribbling downfield and making a 3, and Devin Booker crossed the pregame with a backwards hat.
We had a good time and LeBron James – in his 20th All-Star Game, extending his record – said there was a big takeaway.
“The good thing that came out of tonight was that no players were hurt,” James said. “Everyone came out unscathed.”
Except the scoreboard, maybe.
