NBA All-Star Game: West prevails; Giannis leads East
NEW ORLEANS – The Greek Freak put on a show in his all-star debut.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a team-high 30 points and pounded home some crowd-pleasing dunks, but the Western Conference all-stars pulled away in the final quarter for a 192-182 victory over the East in the NBA All-Star Game at the Smoothie King Center.
New Orleans forward Anthony Davis set an NBA All-Star Game record with 52 points to lead the West, beating the mark of 42 points set by Wilt Chamberlain in 1962. Russell Westbrook just missed beating Chamberlain's mark, scoring 41 points.
Antetokounmpo was impressive with 14-of-17 shooting on layups and dunks. He attempted a single three-pointer and missed it. He scored in the last second to reach the 30-point mark, the most scored by a Bucks player in an NBA All-Star Game. He also had six rebounds, three steals and one assist while playing 23 minutes.
"I was just having fun," Antetokounmpo said. "I told the coaches I'm going to play hard, no matter what. The guys talked to me a lot and they said, 'Your first shot has to be a layup so you can get in a rhythm.' So that's what I did."
Antetokounmpo enjoyed the all-star weekend and showed why he was voted as a starter by the fans, media and players.
He played some defense in a game that featured hardly any, but Antetokounmpo said none of the West players were mad at him for being aggressive.
"They weren't mad at me," he said. "I think even the West team knows me as a player. What I do every night, no matter what type of game it is, I'm going to play hard. I know my teammates were happy, so that's all that matters."
LeBron James added 23 points for the East and Kyrie Irving had 22 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds.
BOX SCORE: West 192, East 182
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Golden State's Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant each scored 21 points and James Harden had 12 points, 10 turnovers and seven rebounds.
Davis, the hometown hero, was named the most valuable player.
"I stressed it more than enough to the guys in this locker room before the game, that I wanted to get the MVP for this crowd," Davis said. "They did a great job of finding me and giving me the basketball. They wanted me to score 50."
Davis admitted the honor meant even more, knowing he had topped Chamberlain's all-star record.
"The next one I'm going to try to do is 100 points," Davis joked, referring to Chamberlain's 100-point game in the regular season. "I think I had 32 and those guys told me to get 50. After that I was just dunking the ball.
"I heard it throughout the arena that I beat the record. But to be in elite company with Wilt, definitely (is great)."
Antetokounmpo was one of the few all-stars playing defense at the outset. He blocked a shot by Davis and also stole the ball from Harden in the backcourt.
After the steal, Antetokounmpo put down a windmill dunk.
Antetokounmpo had 10 points in his first stint on the floor to help the East take an early lead.
The East led after the first quarter, 53-48, and tied the all-star record for points in a quarter when Kyle Lowry hit a three from the corner in the final second.
Antetokounmpo re-entered the game early in the second quarter and dunked for the fifth time. Then he added two more dunks, including another one following a steal.
The West led at intermission, 97-92, behind 22 points from Davis. The two teams combined to set an all-star record for points (189) in a half, breaking the mark set last year when the West led the East, 104-83, at halftime.
Antetokounmpo finished the half with 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting, two free throws, two steals, one assist and one rebound.
Kyrie Irving set up Antetokounmpo for one of his dunks and also fired one perfectly off the backboard to set up a dunk by James.
Kevin Durant fed Westbrook for a lob in the first quarter to quiet the controversy about their feud. The players on the West bench went wild, led by DeAndre Jordan and DeMarcus Cousins, and ice was spilled around the bench.
"It was great," West coach Steve Kerr said. "This stuff has been blown up. Players get traded and players get cut. This is all part of the NBA."
The two players had avoided each other at all-star functions, after a rough reception for Durant when he returned to Oklahoma City for the first time after leaving to sign as a free agent with Golden State.
The third quarter had some funny moments, including Curry lying flat on the floor with Antetokounmpo coming for a dunk. Curry wanted no part of a poster on that one.
Just moments earlier, Antetokounmpo drew gasps from the crowd – and some of the West players – when he followed a miss off the front rim by Paul George with a vicious two-handed dunk. Antetokounmpo soared over Curry, who was caught under the rim on the play.
"I just realized that," Antetokounmpo said in the post-game news conference. "I was thinking, 'Why did he lay down on the floor?' I said to myself I'll chase every rebound, so it was an opportunity for a put-back dunk. So I just dunked the ball."
East coach Brad Stevens left Antetokounmpo in the game for most of the third quarter, and the Bucks player improved his total to 28 points before going to the bench with 2:59 left in the quarter.
Antetokounmpo got back in the game with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter, subbing in for New York's Carmelo Anthony.
The 22-year-old Antetokounmpo was glad he could share his all-star moment with his family.
"Just seeing my family after the game on the court and taking pictures with all the celebrities out there (was a highlight)," he said. "Everything on the court will take care of itself. I'm going to do my job no matter what.
"But seeing my family having fun, too. I'm really proud that I could give that happiness and see them smile."