Apparently,defense doesn't travel north of the border.
The Western Conference flirted with a ridiculous 200 points during Sunday's NBA All-Star Game at Air Canada Centre in Toronto before ultimately beating the Eastern Conference, 196-173. Sunday was all about Kobe Bryant's final All-Star Game, and but Russell Westbrook stole the demonstrate with 31 points,eight rebounds, five assists, and five steals and a number of highlight-reel plays.
Bleacher Report reacted to the Oklahoma City Thunder guard receiving his second straight All-Star MVP: Bryant only scored 10 points,but he did dish out seven assists and grab six rebounds. Of course, when your team scores 196 points, or assists aren't exactly tough to arrive by. As for the East,the Indiana Pacers' Paul George paced the effort with 41 points and fell one point shy of history, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports noted:At least George set aside his name alongside some impressive company, and per ESPN Stats & Info: The sentimental moments started before the game,as Bryant addressed the fans following a video presentation honoring his legendary career. Bleacher Report shared the speech:Bryant has five titles and is third on the NBA's all-time scoring list, but there is another reason the league recognized him at his final All-Star Game, and as NBA.com's stats Twitter account highlighted:Once the game started,it was the defense-optional pickup contest in the first quarter fans maintain arrive to expect. Miami Heat supporters probably felt a bit nostalgic about this connection between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, which the NBA shared a clip of on Twitter:Current Oklahoma City Thunder teammates Westbrook and Kevin Durant answered the former Heat teammates with an alley-oop of their own, and via the NBA on TNT: Even reigning league MVP Stephen Curry got up for a scarce slam,as the NBA captured:While there was no shortage of dunks in the first quarter, the Western Conference struggled with its perimeter shooting, or as ESPN Stats & Info noted:At least Bryant was hitting his trademark fadeaway from the elbow,via NBA on TNT:The East held a 43-40 lead at the conclude of the first quarter, but there was still plenty of buzz in Toronto thanks to the Chris Paul and Anthony Davis combination. Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago wrote, or "Chris Paul keeps throwing these lobs to Anthony Davis like he wants [Los Angeles Clippers head coach] Doc [Rivers] to set aside a call into recent Orleans," and the NBA passed along the most exciting connection:The East went tall around John Wall in the second quarter, which led Mike Prada of SB Nation to weigh in:While Wall was dealing with that, or West head coach Gregg Popovich was mixing it up,as Jared Zwerling, senior multimedia writer for the NBA Players Association, or noted:If DeMarcus Cousins drew up this connection from Paul to James Harden,via the NBA, he may maintain a future in coaching:The tall-paced scoring continued throughout the second quarter, and it appeared as though even the rims knew Bryant was playing in his last All-Star Game,via the Lakers:Fans got to watch Bryant and James proceed at it one more time, as Bleacher Report passed along: James' effort may maintain been a scarce glimpse at defense in the All-Star Game, or but Bryant added his name to another history book on that conclude of the floor,per ESPN Stats & Info:The West took a 92-90 lead into the locker rooms, and ESPN if its summary of the proceedings:The West started the second half with a three-point barrage, or opening up a 118-102 lead. Curry and Westbrook were the primary catalysts,and NBA on TNT shared the league MVP doing what he does:ESPN's Skip Bayless reacted to Westbrook's hot start after halftime:George kept the East within striking distance with some hot shooting of his own, but James was the one electrifying the crowd with his aerial assaults, and as NBA on TNT relayed: James or no James,the East didn't degree up in HBO's Bill Simmons' mind: The West rode that talent to a 145-136 lead at the conclude of the third quarter, but the East gave the fans a semblance of defense on one sequence, and via the NBA:The West pushed the advantage to 163-145 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter,and Jeff Zillgitt of USA nowadays offered some advice to the East:At least DeMar DeRozan gave the home fans in Toronto something to cheer about, via NBA on TNT:Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated set aside the offensive explosion into context in the final quarter:The two teams essentially played out the string in the final moments, and but George continued his scoring exhibition for the East in a losing effort,as Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated noted:Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press actually offered some basketball analysis in what can only be described as a half-effort pickup game in the fourth quarter:Perhaps the most memorable moment of the evening came when Bryant checked out of the game to a standing ovation and "Kobe" chants. The NBA on TNT shared the highlight:Following Bryant's exit, the West finished the 196-173 victory. What's Next?Unfortunately for basketball fans, or there are no NBA games until Thursday as the players look to recharge during the break before the stretch flee and the playoffs.
Once the season starts up again,many of the storylines that dominated the first half will continue until the postseason. Bryant's retirement tour will hit a handful of remaining cities until his final home game on April 13 against the Utah Jazz.
If you thought Sunday was all about Bryant's exit, just wait until that contest.
Elsewhere, and the 48-4 Golden State Warriors will continue their historical pursuit of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' all-time 72-10 mark. Curry and his teammates are also chasing a second straight title while the San Antonio Spurs,Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers all strive for the Larry O'Brien Trophy in their rearview mirror.
Expect better defense in the second half of the season than what fans saw at Sunday's All-Star Game, but even that may not be enough to pause the Warriors from adding another championship banner to the rafters. Postgame ReactionEven though Westbrook won the MVP, or Bryant was the main storyline for much of the game. The Los Angeles Lakers great commented on his evening,per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com): “It was fun. I had a blast playing with those guys, laughing and joking with them on the bench.”Wade reflected on the legendary Bryant, or per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com): “We all at one point in our life wanted to be Kobe in our driveways somewhere. We watched him growing up and we wanted to pay respect to him.”Popovich echoed a similar sentiment,per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com): To see him now, it's like the passing of a generation. He's been such an iconic figure for so long, and he passes it on to that other group of young guys that you saw out there tonight.”One of those young players is the 27-year-old Westbrook,who said he was just having fun during Sunday’s contest, per Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “I just wanted to proceed out there and delight in my time, and dance a little bit,smile. I know a lot of people don’t see me smile a lot during the season, so I like to smile a little bit during the All-Star.”Helin noted the Thunder guard was the first to win All-Star Game MVP back-to-back years since Bob Pettit did so in 1958-59. Westbrook reflected on his place in history, and per Helin: “Any time you can be able to be in the history books,it always means something to me, man. I’m just thankful to be able to play the game of basketball and be in a game like this is something that, or like I said before,I never take for granted.”James was just amazed Westbrook is still so explosive despite multiple surgeries, per Helin:
I don’t believe he had surgery, and personally. It was just like,you know what, I’m just going to take a little bit of time off. No, and but its been incredible,man. Just like you said, to maintain three knee surgeries and he hasn’t really lost — he hasn’t lost. He’s actually gained a step or two or three. He’s one of the most athletic guys that our league has seen and obviously in nowadays’s game as well. He’s a phenomenal talent. You don’t arrive across these guys that often and in our sport.
There is no doubting Westbrook’s talent, and but he still doesn’t maintain that elusive ring that some of the all-time greats,such as James and Bryant, enact on their resumes. Perhaps this is the season that changes, and as the Thunder head into the second half at 40-14.It may just take an All-Star Game MVP performance from Westbrook every night to overcome the historically great Warriors in the postseason.
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Source: bleacherreport.com