A new format and fresh faces brought the best out of everyone in Chicago for the 2020 NBA All-Star game.
What transpired at NBA All-Star Saturday night set a high bar for fan’s expectations of the newly-changed All-Star game on Sunday. Before the game got underway, the league continued to celebrate the life and legacy of Kobe Bryant, Through the numbers that both teams wore on their jerseys to the musical performances throughout the night.
With the makeover, the NBA gave the event there was a lot of discussion about whether the change to a quarter-by-quarter scoring format would have a noticeable impact on how the players approached the start of the 2020 NBA All-Star game.
Well, the first quarter started off as more of the same. Little to no defense was played and there were plenty of lobs and 3-pointers.
Kawhi Leonard started off on fire from deep connecting on all four of his 3-point attempts to score 12 points (which would be high for the quarter) in less than six minutes.
Not to be outdone on his own team, LeBron James had seven points and an assist in his first few minutes. He also made sure his Los Angeles Lakers teammate, Anthony Davis got his looks off playing back home in Chicago.
Yet, it was the second group for each side that really put on a show. Between Chris Paul and Ben Simmons, Team LeBron was drawing a lot of oohs and ahs from the crowd.
It was a night of firsts too. Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Rudy Gobert Brandon Ingram, Donovan Mitchell, Domantas Sabonis, Pascal Siakam, Jayson Tatum and Trae Young were all making their first appearances in the All-Star game. Booker was a late add to the festivities (replacement for the injured Damian Lillard) but he made his presence known quickly after checking in to start the second quarter with a tip-slam.
Not everything was a highlight for the first-timers. Kemba Walker welcomed the Indiana Pacers forward, Sabonis, to the stage by breaking him off with a classic Kemba pull back dribble.
Houston and Oklahoma City swapped point guards this summer but tonight, Paul and Westbrook teamed up to give us this rare alley-oop — Paul had never been on the receiving end of an alley-oop dunk in his NBA career until tonight.
However, the second quarter belongs to Team Giannis. Antetokounmpo was clearly upset with himself for losing out on $100,000 for the charity by losing the first quarter and went out of his way to make sure his team would win the second quarter.
He began by scoring 20 of his team’s first 22 points and all of his baskets were courtesy of slam dunks. His hustle and effort stood out above anyone else’s. He even came from a few feet out of bounds and back into the floor to finish a play.
Leonard’s rest cooled him off slightly but he still finished the half shooting an impressive 9/12 from the field. He tied the record for most 3-pointers made in a half of an All-Star game as he connected on seven of his 10 attempts. His 25 points were the most of any player at halftime.
Yet, Team Giannis took the cue from their captain and won the second quarter 51-30, which put the cumulative score at 92-83 through two quarters. The exclamation point was a half-court buzzer-beater from Young.
The Dallas Mavericks have morphed into a playoff team thanks to the leap their second-year guard, Doncic, has made this season. He finally got involved in the action at the start of the third quarter draining back-to-back deep 3-pointers to get things going.
Another player who had a quiet start was Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. He came to life to start the second half as well, throwing down an impressive windmill dunk.
James revved things up as well in the second half. After watching Giannis spark his team to start the second quarter, LeBron was the leader behind his team’s 41-point outing in the third. James put a nice fake behind the back pass on the fastbreak and finished it with a thunderous dunk.
The last few possessions of the third showed how the changes weren’t only impacting the players but the coaches as well. Following a Nikola Jokic 3-pointer that gave Team LeBron a one-point lead with 22 seconds left, Nick Nurse called a timeout to set up a play in hopes of regaining the lead and giving another $100,000 to their charity.
Team Giannis got an open corner 3-pointer look for Young but the pass from Kyle Lowry hit the out of bounds line first and the ball would go back to Team LeBron. But that wasn’t the end of the coaching decisions. Nurse had his team press and then intentionally foul Russell Westbrook — the worst free-throw shooter on the floor at 78 percent — who would split his pair of attempts and extend the lead to just two points.
Nurse would not use a timeout but Young would find Gobert on a lob, which was also his 10th assist of the night, to tie the game. With 2.2 seconds left it was Frank Vogel’s time to show off his coaching chops. Westbrook would miss a fading bank shot and the quarter ended in a 41-41 tie.
The $100,000 prize would then be awarded to the winner of the fourth quarter. With Team Giannis our scoring Team LeBron 133-124 overall, the target score of the final quarter would be set at 157 points.
Any remaining questions about whether or not this new format would change how players approached the game were answered immediately in the fourth quarter.
Antetokounmpo somehow found another gear as he started things off with blocks of both LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Yet, unlike the first half, the Greek Freak wasn’t the only superstar going full throttle. There was one play where the reigning MVP found himself surrounded by Leonard, James and Davis. James even got Giannis back by forcing him into a turnover when he tried to post James up a few plays later.
The true star of the fourth quarter though had to be Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors. There’s a cliche that nobody takes charges in All-Star games. Well, that’s one that Lowry hasn’t heard before as he took not one but two charges in the fourth quarter.
With both teams approaching 157 — Team LeBron was ahead 154-153 — James and Antetokounmpo met again and this time it was the long arms of Giannis that got the better of the 16-time All-Star starter. In a play that few, if any, players could pull off, Antetokounmpo pinned a finger roll attempt to the backboard to get a crucial stop for his team.
Team LeBron led 156-155 when Vogel called a timeout to set up his final play, which resulted in Davis drawing a foul against Lowry in the post. Only needing one point for the win, Davis missed the first (purposefully according to himself) and then swished the second to seal the game for Team LeBron in Chicago.
Leonard (30 points and seven rebounds) would be named the first-ever Kia NBA Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP.
Even though the finish was anti-climactic compared to the rest of the fourth quarter, it’s clear that the change was a rousing success for the NBA. The players brought in, the coaches were part of the action, fans across the globe were hanging on to every late possession. There were two coaches challenges — one successful — and a replay review. Things could not have gone better for the league on Sunday.