Elite plays aplenty in NBA showcase
MEGASTARS LIVE UP TO BILLING AT 68TH ALL-STAR TILT
The 68th edition of the NBA All-Star Game’s signature moment came midway through the second quarter courtesy of two of the contest’s megastars.
Two-time league MVP Stephen Curry smashed a bounce pass off the floor that went bounding way, way up into the stratosphere. His team’s captain, this year’s MVP front-runner, Giannis Antetokounmpo went unfathomably high up to catch the pass with one hand and slam it down. Stunned murmurs turned to applause as everyone processed what had just happened. It will be an iconic all-star moment forever.
“I’m not sure anybody else on the floor could have finished that one,” Curry said afterward, and he was probably right.
“I bounced it really high and a lot of time in between when it hit the ground to him dunking it. Obviously, timing was unreal. His length, finishing it, and getting it before it came down. Pretty bang-bang play.”
Alas, Team Giannis’s 20-point first-half lead did not hold up and LeBron James & Co. battled back to grab a one-point edge after three quarters, before pulling away in the fourth in a 178-164 win Sunday night.
Antetokounmpo made a big case for the game’s MVP award with 38 points and 11 rebounds, but Kevin Durant was outstanding for the winners, scoring 31 points, including six-three-pointers, to come away with the hardware.
Durant now has won two titles, two Finals MVP trophies, two all-star MVP nods and a regular season top player award. He’s already a sure-thing first-ballot Hallof-Famer and says he won’t be ranking his honours.
“It’s all sweet to me,” Durant said. “Everything’s special … to win an MVP here in front of my family and friends is pretty sweet. I just keep trying to rack them up, I guess.”
Underdog Team Giannis fired the opening salvos, coming out looking to prove a point after captain Antetokounmpo’s drafting skills had been mocked.
Giannis had five dunks in the opening quarter alone (and eight in all), hitting all eight of his shots. Veteran teammate Dirk Nowitzki brought down the house by nailing a trio of deep threepointers in his only four minutes of the night on the way to a 53-37 lead. Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks teammate Khris Middleton surprisingly scored 12 off the bench, including four threepointers in the first quarter.
Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard started for Team LeBron and had 19 points in 19 minutes, including nine points in the fourth to help propel the comeback.
Kyle Lowry had three points and three assists in 13 minutes as the first player off of the Team Giannis bench. Team Giannis took a 95-82 lead into the break, and the in-house announcer began saying “Giannis go boom” every time the Greek Freak threw one down, which was often, but Team LeBron mounted a furious rally, behind sizzling shooting from guards Damian Lillard and Klay Thompson, who hit six three-pointers apiece and led by a point after three.
The Curry to Giannis stunner was the marquee moment, but there were other fun points:
The Dirk NBA Jam hot streak early on: “It’s the last time on this stage, I’m going to go for it,” said the legendary German big man; LeBron finishing an alleyoop from longtime Miami teammate and close friend Dwyane Wade one more time: “It meant everything,” James said of sharing the court with his pal again; Thompson bodychecking his Golden State Warriors backcourt-mate Curry while Curry nailed a three-pointer from way out, before celebrating in Thompson’s face was also good theatre: “From the time he checked in, we were going back and forth,” Curry said. “He fell asleep for a hot second, tried to close out, and I sold the call for sure … Yeah, I was yelling at him — I’ll yell at him even when we’re on the same team. I think it’s because we feed off of the competition, and trying to be better than each other at shooting the basketball.”; and finally, Curry bouncing a pass to himself that he finished with a reverse dunk in the game’s final seconds, thrilling a crowd that reveres the Curry family: “That was the best part of my night for sure,” Curry said.
It was the first all-star game in Charlotte since 1991. Next year’s will be held in Chicago for the first time since 1988 and Hornets owner Michael Jordan passed the torch to the son of his old boss with the Bulls in the fourth quarter.
Durant, apparently, isn’t ready to pass his ultra-elite torch to anybody just yet, though that doesn’t mean he isn’t in awe of Antetokounmpo like everybody else.
“He’s got potential through the roof,” Durant said.
“It’s scary to see how far he can keep going. His game is rounding into shape. He’s still getting better, but he’s leading top five, top three MVP candidates right now ... To be that young and already at the top of the class as one of the elites in the game, it’s a joy to watch his progression.”