The 2018 NBA All-Star Game has wrapped up on Sunday night with Team LeBron getting a 148-145 win over Team Stephen. Unlike some previous All-Star games, where we could see video-game scores while playing defense wasn’t even an option; the 2018 edition did bring us a competitive game.
Although we saw flashy handles and explosive dunks in this one as well, both teams really tried to win the game.
“We wanted to kind of change the narrative of the All-Star Game being a joke,” – said Kevin Durant (Team LeBron) after the game. “Today we wanted to make it a real basketball game.“
Team Stephen entered the fourth quarter with a three points lead and got it to seven points with nine minutes left on the clock. That’s when LeBron James entered the game and carried his team to a 28-12 run. Final five minutes of the game felt like a “real NBA game”, with both teams paying attention to their shot selection and playing lockdown defense. Team Stephen ended up trailing three points with 10.7 seconds left in the game, but with the last attack.
They decided to give the ball to their captain Stephen Curry, but he ended up being trapped by Durant and James in the corner and had to give the ball to DeMar DeRozan who failed to get the shot off in time, which meant Team LeBron got the victory.
Besides the win in 2018 NBA All-Star Game, LeBron James also took home the All-Star Game MVP honors ending the game with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists.
“It definitely worked out for everybody,” – said James after. “It worked out not only for the players, not only for the league, but for our fans, for everybody. It was a great weekend, and we capped it off the right way.“
