ALL-STAR JOURNAL
Paul George picks up after sluggish Saturday
Paul George put up an ugly performance in the Three-Point Contest on Saturday with just nine points and a last-place finish. He scored more in one half of open play in Sunday’s 67th All-Star Game at the Staples Center.
George finished with a flurry of two 3-pointers and a dunk in the final minute-and-a-half of the first half to finish with 10 points at halftime, second on the team behind LeBron James' 15 points. George scored just nine points in the 3-point competition.
Looks like George is a gamer instead of a killer in static contests. His two 3-pointers and dunk were all on the fast break.
Westbrook gets starting nod for Team LeBron
He wasn’t supposed to start, but when the stage elevated the five starters for Team LeBron, Russell Westbrook had another first in his illustrious career.
Westbrook was a replacement starter for the injured DeMarcus Cousins (Achilles), lining up alongside Kyrie Irving, James, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis on a rising platform in pregame introductions.
Team LeBron head coach Dwane Casey selected Westbrook as Cousins’ replacement.
In six previous All-Star appearances, Westbrook had never been voted as a starter.
More than one No. 0
You weren’t imagining things. Yes, there were multiple No. 0’s on the court for Team LeBron on Sunday.
In addition to Westbrook, Davis started the game in a No. 0 Cousins jersey in honor of his injured New Orleans Pelicans teammate. Davis later switched to his normal No. 23 for the second half
Including Andre Drummond and the injured Kevin Love, Team LeBron actually had four No. 0 jerseys on its roster.
Three-Point Westbrook
Westbrook loves shooting the 3-pointer at All-Star weekend.
Entering Sunday’s game, Westbrook had led the All-Star Game in 3-point attempts in each of the last two contests, attempting 17 in 2016 and 13 in 2017.
But Westbrook scaled back his 3-point game (a little, he shot five in the first half) for more assists on Sunday. After starting with 3-point shots on his first three attempts, Westbrook went into pass-first mode for a gamehigh seven assists before halftime.
Embiid exchange
Too bad the Thunder and 76ers only play twice a season.
Team LeBron rallied to within one point of Team Stephen in the second quarter before Team Stephen’s Joel Embiid hit a deep 3-pointer in front of Westbrook.
Westbrook tried to go immediately at Embiid on the fast break, but the 7-foot-2 blocked his shot to start the fast break the other way.
The Thunder and Sixers have already played their two games this season, the Thunder going 2-0.
Blue's Thomas helps G League USA to win
Oklahoma City Blue forward and Oklahoma City native Rashawn Thomas posted four points, five rebounds, an assist, two blocked shots and two steals in 13 minutes to help NBA G League USA defeat the Mexican Men’s National Team 88-67 in the first version of the International Challenge.
Unlike last year’s G League All-Star Game in which the G League’s Western Conference played against the Eastern Conference, the G League USA team was pitted against Mexico in the first ever international exhibition in NBA All-Star history.
As a member of G League USA, Thomas will play for USA Basketball in the FIBA Basketball World Cup starting Feb. 23.
Elaborate intro
The All-Star Game is never short on entertainment. This year’s pregame performance was headlined by comedian/actor Kevin Hart, and included appearances from star actors Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Adam Devine and Rob Riggle and a performance from Ludacris. Recording artist Fergie sang The national anthem and Canadian group Barenaked Ladies performed the Canadian national anthem.
Next up
The Thunder returns to practice Wednesday before heading to Sacramento on Thursday.