The western conference starting 5 featured Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Andrew Bynum, Kevin Durant, and Blake Griffin. The western all stars came out to "No Church in the Wild" by Jay-z looking more serious than the east. Andrew Bynum got limited minutes playing only 6 due to a lingering knee injury. Andrew Bynum had a routine synthetic lubrication injection into his knee, and played limited minutes as more of a precaution. It was also a big night for Kobe Bryant, surpassing Michael Jordan (262) in all star points on a fast break dunk to push his career all star points to 271.
Kobe Bryant broke the ice and scored the first shot followed by a Durant 3 pointer. This was important because after Kobe and Durant started the west scoring run, Kobe hit his next 4/5 shots and the west never trailed. At half the western conference found themselves up 88-69. The first half was full of highlights from the all stars, and Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Kobe Bryant though on the same team looked as if they were all competing for the MVP award.
Usually in the first half of these NBA all star games the all stars put on a show, although still competitive. In the first half there were numerous dunks from Lebron and Blake Griffin. Chris Paul's off the backboard assist to Kevin Durant and Chris Paul's through the legs pass back to Blake Griffin stands out in my mind. Blake Griffin looked like he was going to tear the rim down, and you can't even blame Luol Deng for getting out of the way to dodge a flying train. Even if it is an all star game. The second half was more competitive, and the eastern all stars lead by Lebron's 3 point shooting going 6/8 from distance and found themselves down by just a point with 1 minute and 20 seconds left. It was 148-147 for the west when the ball was thrown to an open Dwyane Wade down the court for what looked like an easy basket before he fumbled the ball and turned it over. Had Dwyane Wade caught the ball and scored, the east would have found their first lead in the game after trailing by as much as 20 at the beginning of the 4th quarter. At the end of the game down by 2 after free throws, it was obvious that the eastern all stars were going to go for a 3 to win the game.
The east all stars set up a picture perfect play for Deron Williams who shot 4/6 from 3 point range, just to get an airball. Deron Williams got the ball back and passed it to Lebron who turned the ball over trying to find Dwyane Wade. It's been over done, but any new jokes about Lebron lacking a 4th quarter certainly applies here. There was 5 seconds left on the clock which is enough time for Lebron to dribble and find a decent shot despite Kevin Durant lurking behind Kobe. Instead, Lebron throws away the ball trying to find his teammate who is willing to take the big shot. Lebron did what he could. He lead the eastern team back after a 20 point deficit, and Dwyane Wade did fumble the ball and Deron Williams did miss an open 3. Lebron also seemed disappointed at his turnover during the interview with Craig Sager, and I'm sure with the improvement the Heat team has made this year that this is going to be another learning tool for Lebron to use along his journey towards a championship.
Overall, this all star weekend was exciting, and a success. All star records had been broken by Kobe Bryant for scoring and the western team for most points in a half, and Kevin Durant getting MVP made the weekend even better. Had the dunk contest been more exciting, this all star weekend would have been perfect. After this weekend, there are only things to look forward to in the NBA including the competitive second half of the season, the trade deadline, and the post season.
Here's a link for the highlights to the all star game.
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