Team LeBron 170-150 Team Durant
Team LeBron remains undefeated in the NBA All-Star Game. The King’s team improved to 4-0 since the change in format as his squad thumped Team Durant by 20 points.
James, who was one of many superstars who voiced their displeasure at the league’s decision to play the game this year, had the least impressive All-Star Game of his career. Instead, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo who shone brightest among the league’s All-Stars as his perfect shooting performance led Team LeBron to victory – and earned himself MVP honours.
And while it did not feature the late drama of last year’s exciting ending, the game still provided its usual dose of fun and entertainment. Read on as SBOTOP breaks down all the big moments of the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.
Highlights of the game
There was huge NBA 2021 news that broke just before the All-Star Game as Philadelphia 76ers duo Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid were both scratched due to contact tracing.
The NBA 2021 odds were already against Team Durant, who were missing team captain Kevin Durant due to injury, and now they lost another starter in Embiid. New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson came in to start for Embiid.
As with most All-Star Games, both teams began the opening quarter basically exchanging baskets with very little defence played between the two squads. Giannis already had three dunks within the first two and half minutes to set the tone early, while Kyrie Irving converted a couple of layups for Team Durant.
Stephen Curry — who had won the 3-point shootout earlier in the night — then started to get hot from beyond the arc. After missing his first two shots, he made four of his next five 3-point attempts. The most notable of his 3-pointers was the one he hit from the All-Star Game logo.
But despite Giannis and Curry’s hot start, Team LeBron only had a narrow one-point lead as the first quarter ended 40-39.
Team Durant came out strong in the second quarter and even took the lead thanks in large part to Bradley Beal and Jayson Tatum.
But Giannis would return halfway toward the quarter to lead the Team LeBron fightback. The two-time MVP would get four quick buckets minutes upon his return.
Then, with the score at 73-72, Team LeBron would go on an incredible 27-8 run over the final four minutes to win the quarter 60-41 and went into half-time up 100-80 in total.
Damian Lillard and Curry put the exclamation point on an utterly dominant quarter for Team LeBron with back-to-back 3-pointers from midcourt in the final seconds.
Beal tried to lead a Team Durant rally with three 3-pointers in a row within the first three minutes of the third quarter. But Giannis and Team LeBron always seemed to have a response. Antetokounmpo even converted a 27-foot stepback 3-pointer off the backboard — his third triple of the game — to maintain his perfect shooting performance.
Team Durant made one last big push at the start of the fourth, but the closest they got was within 15 points. Damian Lillard shut down any hope of a Team Durant comeback as he went on a late scoring barrage with four straight buckets, including a 40-foot dagger to hit the target score of 170 as Team LeBron took the win.
Key statistics
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the game with 35 points and went a perfect 16-of-16 from the field, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Antetokounmpo set the record for the highest field-goal percentage in All-Star Game history with a minimum of 10 shots. He doubled the previous record of most shots without a miss — 8-of-8 held by Hal Greer in 1968.
Meanwhile, Lillard and Curry had 32 and 28 points, respectively, and both went 8-of-16 on 3-pointers to help carry the load for Team LeBron, as James finished with just four points in 13 minutes.
And on Team Durant, Bradley Beal — the NBA’s leading scorer — led the way with 26 points, while Kyrie Irving added 24 points and 12 assists. Irving’s Nets team-mate James Harden had 21 points off the bench, and the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum had 21 points in just 17 minutes.
What’s next?
With the All-Star Game festivities done and dusted, the NBA will now take a three-day break for the players to rest up for the remainder of the regular season.
The league will resume on Thursday, March 11th with a double-header between the Wizards and Grizzlies followed by the Spurs and Mavericks.
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