What Happened at the NBA All-Star Game?
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February is always a big month for sports, and this year has been no different. Between the Super Bowl, the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the NBA All-Star Game, a lot is going on this month, and it can be hard to keep track of it all! To stay up-to-date for all your workplace conversations this week, read on below to find out what happened at the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.
Who were on the teams?
This year’s NBA All-Star game saw LeBron James and Team LeBron facing off against Kevin Durant and Team Durant. LeBron started on his own team, bringing along Steph Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Jokic. Team LeBron was led by coach Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns.
Kevin Durant was unable to play in the game due to a sprained MCL, so his team started Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, Trae Young, and Andrew Wiggins. Team Durant was coached by Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.
Who won the game?
Team LeBron won a tight victory with the final score being 163-160. LeBron himself finished the game off with a two-pointer to secure the victory. As usual for the All-Star game, each team picked a charity beforehand that would receive money based on the quarter scores and final results of the game. The final total awarded $450,000 to Team LeBron’s chosen charity, the Kent State I PROMISE Scholars Program, and $300,000 to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Team Durant’s charity of choice.
First-time All-Stars
There were six first-time All-Stars on the court at this year’s game. These included Darius Garland, Fred VanVleet, and Jarrett Allen for Team LeBron, and Ja Morant, Andrew Wiggins, Dejounte Murray, and Ja Morant for Team Durant. Morant was brought in as a replacement due to Durant’s knee injury, making him the fourth-youngest All-Star in NBA history.
Steph Curry’s MVP award
Curry’s shooting was spectacular as always, and he brought a whopping 50 points for Team LeBron from 16 made shots out of 27 attempted three-pointers. With this outstanding performance, it’s no surprise that Curry was awarded this year’s Kobe Bryant MVP Award. While Curry is an eight-time NBA All-Star, this year marks his first time winning the MVP award in an All-Star Game.
Other impressive performances
LeBron also put in a great performance in this year’s game, scoring 24 points, and Giannis Antetekounmpo scored 30 points and had 12 rebounds. Joel Embiid led Team Durant with 36 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
The target score
Casual basketball fans might have been confused watching the All-Star game, as this year, the end of the game was based on a team reaching a target score instead of the clock running out. This convention has been in place for the past three years, with this year’s target score being 24 more than the leading team had at the end of the third quarter, in honor of Kobe Bryant who died in January 2020.