NBA: All-Star Weekend Recap
Friday Night: Celebrity Game & Rising Stars Challenge: The weekend got kicked off with the Celebrity game, which came down to the wire, despite a lack of big names. Some of most notable players were Famous Los, Jay Williams, Ray Allen, Steve Smith, and Quavo. Famous Los took home the MVP award as he led the home team to a victory with 22 points. Quavo led both teams with 27 points. In the Rising Stars Challenge, Team USA broke a two-game losing streak as they defeated Team World, 161-144, behind 35 points and six rebounds from Kyle Kuzma. Jayson Tatum had 30 points. Trae Young impressed for the USA, as well, dropped 25 points and 10 assists. The World was led by Ben Simmons who had 28 points on 14-17 shooting, while Luka Doncic had 13 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
Saturday Night: Skills Challenge, Three-Point Shootout & Dunk Contest: The middle night is regarded by many to be the most exciting of the three, and it lived up to the hype for the most part. In the first competition, the Skills Challenge, Tatum continued his impressive weekend with a victory for the Boston Celtics. He defeated Trae Young in the final, which was capped off by a half court shot. The three-point shooters came out hot as Stephen Curry, Joe Harris, and Buddy Hield advanced all with 25+ points. In the final, Harris stole the show and took home the crown. The Dunk Contest ended the night, and there were mixed results. While Hamidou Diallo, the eventual winner, recorded one of the greatest dunks ever, jumping over Shaq (with the honey dip!), there were certainly some duds as well.
Sunday Night: All-Star Game: The main show always comes last and there was a lot of high-flying dunks and deep threes taken in this one. In fact, Team LeBron and Team Giannis combined for the most three-point attempts in All-Star Game history. Team Giannis led 53-37 after the first quarter and looked much more lively in the first half, but Team LeBron came back from 20 points down to win, 178-164. Kevin Durant, who got hot in the second half, was awarded the MVP (his second after winning it in 2012). He dropped a team-high 31 points, while finishing with six rebounds and two assists. Damian Lillard helped lead the third quarter come back, as well, totaling 18 points. Antetokounmpo recorded 38 points, a game-high, and 11 rebounds. Paul George had 20 points. Team LeBron is now 2-0 in this event.
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports.
