High scoring NBA All-Star Game raises competitiveness concerns once again – The Athletic

INDIANAPOLIS — Right now, the janitorial staff at the NBA office in New York is wheeling the dry-erase board out of the closet and giving it a once over with a wet rag. It’s time to draw up yet another new idea to save the league’s All-Star Game.

On Sunday night in Indianapolis, the 73rd edition of the NBA’s annual February classic reverted to the traditional format of East versus West and four, 12-minute quarters. The changes, switching back from years of team captains picking sides, and an untimed, targeted scoring system in the fourth quarter to determine the winner — didn’t work.

The game, won by the East, 211-186, (not a misprint; a team literally scored 211 points in a 48-minute pro basketball game) was still a listless walk-through of less than no defense and mindless chucking of 3s from as far away as behind the half-court line. League executive Joe Dumars’ edict from October that the All-Stars simply had to play harder was ignored like a Sunday morning alarm clock following an all-night, All-Star Saturday rager.

“To the Eastern Conference All-Stars, well, you scored the most points. Congratulations,” cracked commissioner Adam Silver, during a milquetoast trophy ceremony.

Damian Lillard, Saturday night’s 3-point champion, was voted MVP after scoring 39 points against the West. Counting his barrage from the Saturday contest, Lillard made 57 3s this weekend, including 11 on Sunday.

“You just gotta keep shooting the ball and I think in a game like this, it’s gonna be pretty loose, you’re gonna get your opportunities,” said Lillard, who won MVP in his first All-Star start and eighth overall appearance. “I think people who are fans of the game, they love it. They enjoy being entertained, and I think it could be more competitive.”

The game’s leading scorer was the West’s Karl-Anthony Towns, who put up 50 points, tied for the third-highest scoring game in All-Star history and the highest point total for a player who didn’t win MVP. Towns attempted 35 shots — at least he broke a sweat.

“I just wanted to cherish this moment and make the most of it,” Towns said. “I didn’t know it was going to be 50. I thought it was maybe going to be more like 15.”

The two teams set All-Star records for total points in a game (397), and in a half (193); for most 3s made (67) and attempted (167). The East also set a record for points by one team and tied a record with 104 points in the first half, and new marks for 3s made by one team (42!).

The two teams’ benches combined for 203 points; 109 by the West to 94 by the East. For comparison’s sake, the Dallas Mavericks full team beat all the San Antonio Spurs 116-93 in a game Wednesday.

Get the picture?

“It’s never been done before, and that was a goal of ours to do,” said Jalen Brunson of the Knicks, who was an All-Star for the first time and contributed 12 points. He said the East set the goal as a team at halftime of scoring 200. “I’m glad we did.”

If NBA All-Star weekend has become a three-day cultural celebration of a sport, with branding parties, steak dinners and seeing who can wear the freshest sneakers and wildest coat to All-Star Saturday night for the dunk contest, then Indianapolis did just fine (though two G Leaguers in the dunk contest is another sore spot for the league to figure out). Hey, the Steph Curry-Sabrina Ionescu shootout seemed to work, no?

Even Sunday had a few nice moments. Babyface sang a beautiful rendition of the national anthem, strumming along on a six-string guitar, and Jennifer Hudson’s brief halftime concert was stellar. Oh, and during a break in the fourth quarter, Fat Joe led the crowd in a sing-a-long of Backstreet Boys’ “I Want it That Way.”

No one wants their NBA basketball like this, though.

On Saturday night, Silver predicted a better game, citing some changes to the pregame program that reduced the amount of time players stood around before the game started. While they were put on stage for a dance-off under the guise of pregame introductions, players who took the court for warmups at 8 p.m. still didn’t start the game until 8:41.

“There was definitely some discussions (amongst players about playing hard),” said Jaylen Brown, of the Celtics, who added 36 points off the bench. “I guess guys are trying to figure out how to do that at the same time as having fun, being safe, being injury-free. I guess more solutions need to be had to figure that out.”

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Tyrese Haliburton, the hometown hero for the Indianapolis All-Star game, made his first five 3s and the East connected on 13 3s in the first quarter. The game was not competitive — even on the scoreboard — for much beyond that.

Haliburton, who’s nursing a sore hamstring, finished with 32 points and six assists.

“Obviously it wasn’t high intensity at all,” Haliburton said. Giannis Antetkounmpo, team captain for the East, added 23 points.

LeBron James, playing in his NBA record 20th All-Star Game, finished with 8 points in 14 minutes for the West. He did not play in the second half. Speaking with the media earlier Sunday — because he was not in Indianapolis for All-Star Saturday — James said there were “not many” seasons left in his career, and that he was hopeful he would retire a Laker, though he wasn’t sure if he would.

“It’s just been an absolute honor to be able to grace the floor throughout my career and be out there with the greatest players in the world year in and year out,” James said of his All-Star games, all of which he started. “This is very humbling, very blessed, and it’s something I will never forget obviously. It’s part of my journey.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, making his first All-Star start, scored 31 for the West. Kevin Durant, making his first appearance in an All-Star Game since 2019 because of injuries, finished with 18 points.

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(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)