Both teams topped the previous single-team scoring record of 163 points (set by the East in 2014 and West as 2015).
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Russell Westbrook won MVP honors with 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Anthony Davis had 24 points and six rebounds, James Harden and Kevin Durant added 23 points apiece, and Curry provided some of the game’s top highlights.
There was speculation that Bryant would be named MVP for sentimental reasons and East team leader Paul George made a case for himself with 41 points but Westbrook nailed a bunch of key three-pointers in the second half to lead the West to victory.
The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard also became the first player to win back-to-back All-Star MVP awards since Bob Pettit in the 1950s.
The 18-time All-Star, Bryant, checked out of the game with 1:06 left in the game to a standing ovation and hugs from teammates.
“To see him now, it’s like the passing of a generation”, West coach Gregg Popovich said.
Paul George of the Indiana Pacers made a total of nine three-points to score the most three-point shots by a player in the history of the competition.
The NBA’s Kobe Bryant Tribute took precedence over the actual All-Star Game last night and that’s fine.
Bryant’s farewell tour has dominated the Lakers’ in-progress, 11-44 season, since his announcement in November that he will retire after the season.
If we saw the All Star Game played as a proper game between the best talent in each conference, it wouldn’t only just make it more enjoyable for the fans, but I’m sure the added competitiveness that comes with making defensive plays would push the game to a greater intensity. With moments like this, the question of a player’s legacy will come up, and there’s few that have been as heatedly debated as Bryant’s. It’s something the trio started doing last season at All-Star weekend, calling the gathering the Gentleman’s Supper Club.
“First of all, to the people of Toronto, Canada, and all of Canada as a country, thanks for welcoming our league with open and warm arms”, LeBron James said.
Bryant’s 18 All-Star Game appearances are second to only Kareem Abdul-Jabaar so how do you pay proper respect to one of the game’s legends? Too many times I’ve seen coaches just sit on the bench and essentially quit on their team after they fall behind by a large deficit. He said he has “been extremely fortunate to play the game I love and be in the National Basketball Association for more than half my life”.
In a lot of ways, the game had much more to do with those moments than the leading scorers or even the game’s outcome. We got a chance to share moments with him and talk about games we played against each other and what we was thinking and got to hear his take on it. We got to show our respect.
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Zach LaVine called it the best dunk contest ever, a showdown with Aaron Gordon that rivaled what Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins did. In his remarks Sunday he urged the NBA’s current players to study the history of how past players fought for certain rights “and look where you are today”.
