LeBron James showed once again that he knows how to select a winning roster. His team delivered a dominant performance at the 2021 NBA All-Star Game and walked away with a 170-150 win over Team Durant.
The two teams made it interesting in the first quarter, in which Team LeBron narrowly finished ahead with 40-39. Team Durant fell apart in the second, allowing 60 points and falling behind massively.
In the second half, Team LeBron just focused on maintaining their lead and had no issue approaching the “Elam Ending” target score. Portland Trail Blazers’ star Damian Lillard was the one to close out the game, channeling his “Dame Time” and delivering a deep three to make it 170 for his squad.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo was the star of the evening, scoring game-high 35 points while shooting a perfect 16 out of 16 from the floor. His efforts were recognized with an NBA All-Star MVP Award, which now carries the name of late LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
“My team played great, and I was able to just win it,” said Antetokounmpo after the game. “And to have the trophy with the name of Kobe Bryant, it’s amazing, and I know he would be happy. Yeah, I know he’d be happy.”
The Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal and Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving were the top performers for Team Durant. Beal scored 26 points, followed by Irving’s 24 points and 12 assists.
Regarding the Skills Challenge, the Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis emerged as the most skillful player, beating Orlando Magic’s Nikola Vucevic.
Steph Curry got his second 3-Point Contest win, edging out the Utah Jazz’s Mike Conley in a nail-bitter.
And Portland Trail Blazers’ guard Anfernee Simons had the best dunks, finishing ahead of the Indiana Pacers’ Cassius Stanley and the NY Knicks’ Obi Toppin.
