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The NBA wanted more competition. It got more points instead—more than ever before.
And once again, the All-Star Game was all offense.
The Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 on Sunday night, with the winners putting up the most points in the game’s 73-year history. The previous mark: 196 by the West in 2016.
It was a flurry of records: The total points of 397 smashed the record of 374 set in 2017, while the East made 42 3-pointers to break the mark of 35 set by Team LeBron in 2019. The sides combined for 193 points in the first half to break the any-half record of 191 set last year, and the East tied an any-half record by scoring 104 by intermission.
The Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton had five 3-pointers in a 1:32 span in the first quarter, helping the East take a 53-47 lead after the opening 12 minutes. He finished with 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including 10-of-14 from 3-point land.
The East’s Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks captured game MVP honors by scoring 39 points, while Jaylen Brown had 36. Lillard’s honor came one day after he won his second straight 3-point contest. He won last year’s honor while playing for the Portland Trail Blazers.
“To be able to have this kind of accomplishment, it’s special,” Lillard said.
Perhaps unnoticed: Karl-Anthony Towns scored 50 points for the West in just 28 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 for the West.
“Obviously, it wasn’t high intensity, at all,” Haliburton said.
Lillard made some history. The only other player to win a Saturday event and All-Star MVP in the same weekend was Michael Jordan in 1988, when he won the dunk contest as well as the MVP trophy.
“Dame put on a show,” Tatum said, “and I was happy for him.”
The highlights were from everywhere. Lillard pulled up from halfcourt in the third quarter—swish. Luka Doncic tried a shot from about 70 feet late in the first half; it hit near the top of the backboard. Towns even threw an alley-oop to Stephen Curry; the Warriors star is much more of a shooter than a dunker, so he simply laid it in instead.
“We had fun,” East captain Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks said.
Defense was optional, sometimes accidental.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and other league executives were seeking a more competitive All-Star Game after last season’s 184-175 matchup was widely panned—and television ratings plummeted.
Even Hall of Famer Larry Bird, honored Sunday at the NBA Legends Brunch, said was hoping the message from the league resonated and players took the All-Star Game a little more seriously.
“I know what this league’s all about and I’m very proud of it,” Bird said. “I’m proud of today’s players. I like the game they play. … I think it’s very important when you have the best players in the world together, you’ve got to compete and you’ve got to play hard and you’ve got to show the fans how good they really are.”
It had a big-game, Finals-type atmosphere—but obviously, nothing near a playoff feel. Donovan Mitchell threw a 50-foot inbounds pass underhand, Bam Adebayo inbounded a ball off Nikola Jokic’s backside before dribbling downcourt and making a 3, and Devin Booker went through pregame with a hat on backwards.
“The shot-making from the East was incredible,” West forward Kevin Durant said. “Hard to play defense when somebody’s shooting 30-, 40-footers over you.”
And Lillard ended it in style — a 44-footer to close the scoring. He made 11 3-pointers on the night, with the official distance of those recorded at 347 feet. A typical NBA 3-pointer is 24 or 25 feet; Lillard averaged 31 1/2 feet on his 3s Sunday night.
Durant said he was watching Lillard on the West bench while sitting with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard. “We were in awe,” Durant said.
Defense was optional, sometimes accidental. There were 14 steals, most of those coming off wayward passes. And there were even three blocked shots.
Fun was had, and LeBron James—in his 20th All-Star Game, extending his record—said there was one big takeaway.
“The good thing that came out of tonight is none of the players were injured,” James said. “Everybody came out unscathed.”
Except the scoreboard, perhaps.
UP NEXT
The 74th NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2025, at Chase Center in San Francisco, the home of the Golden State Warriors. It’ll be the first time the NBA for the game in the Bay Area since 2000.
Box:
WEST NBA ALL STARS (186)
Durant 7-12 0-0 18, James 4-10 0-0 8, Jokic 6-8 0-0 13, Doncic 3-10 0-0 7, Gilgeous-Alexander 12-16 0-0 31, George 5-9 1-1 13, Leonard 2-4 0-0 5, Towns 23-35 0-0 50, Davis 3-5 0-0 6, Booker 7-14 0-0 15, Curry 6-17 0-0 16, Edwards 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 80-143 1-1 186.
EAST NBA ALL STARS (211)
Antetokounmpo 11-16 1-2 23, Tatum 8-13 0-0 20, Adebayo 1-2 0-0 3, Haliburton 11-15 0-0 32, Lillard 14-26 0-0 39, Banchero 3-9 0-0 6, Barnes 7-10 0-0 16, Brown 15-23 0-0 36, Brunson 5-12 0-0 12, Maxey 3-5 2-2 10, Mitchell 3-9 0-0 9, Young 2-6 0-0 5. Totals 83-146 3-4 211.
West NBA All Stars 47 42 47 50 — 186
East NBA All Stars 53 51 56 51 — 211
3-Point Goals_West NBA All Stars 25-71 (Gilgeous-Alexander 7-10, Durant 4-8, Curry 4-13, Towns 4-13, George 2-4, Jokic 1-1, Leonard 1-3, Doncic 1-6, Booker 1-7, Edwards 0-1, Davis 0-2, James 0-3), East NBA All Stars 42-97 (Lillard 11-23, Haliburton 10-14, Brown 6-12, Tatum 4-9, Mitchell 3-9, Maxey 2-4, Barnes 2-5, Brunson 2-9, Adebayo 1-1, Young 1-4, Antetokounmpo 0-3, Banchero 0-4). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_West NBA All Stars 53 (Davis, Towns 8), East NBA All Stars 64 (Banchero 9). Assists_West NBA All Stars 60 (Jokic 9), East NBA All Stars 46 (Young 7). Total Fouls_West NBA All Stars 2, East NBA All Stars 1. A_17,251 (20,000)
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Apparently one of the new rules was no defense allowed.
James Naismith is rolling over in his grave!