NBA: All-Star Weekend Recap
Celebrity Game: NBA impersonator Brandon Armstrong was the headline of this years game, winning the MVP award with 16 points and 15 boards. Armstrong featured a couple of his famous impersonations in the game including the James Harden euro-step and Steph Curry off balance 3 with his celebration. Not only was this game fun to watch, but it had a very special moment to it. 14-year-old Jarrius Robertson, who is fighting a chronic liver disease, was hanging around New Orleans all weekend talking to players, telling Russell Westbrook he “needs more shooters,” and such. Robertson checked into the game and nailed the first shot he took as the arena erupted. I’m sure he will remember that moment for the rest of his life.
BBVA Rising Stars Challenge: Karl Anthony-Towns, Kristaps Porzingis, and Devin Booker had the spotlights going into the game until Jamal Murray stole the show. Team USA was up when Murray caught fire and took over the game. Team World took the win behind MVP Murray’s 36 points and 11 assists. Other notable performances were Buddy Hield (28 points, 6 rebounds), Porzingis (24 points, 10 rebounds), Frank Kaminsky (33 points), and Anthony-Towns (24 points, 11 rebounds).
Taco Bell Skills Challenge: Kristaps Porzingis defeated Gordon Hayward in the finals to lock up the second win for the bigs over the guards in as many years. JBL Three-Point Contest: Kyrie Irving, Kyle Lowry, CJ McCollum and reigning champion, Klay Thompson headlined this event. Thompson disappointed the fans by not making it past the first round but Eric Gordon and Kyrie Irving were tied after the final round. In the overtime shootout, Gordon defeated Irving 21-18.
Verizon Slam Dunk: Rookie Derrick Jones Jr., Glenn Robinson III, DeAndre Jordan, and Aaron Gordon participated. Gordon was the big favorite to win but didn’t bring anything near the same stuff he had last year. Jones Jr. and Robinson III moved on to the final round. Jones Jr. failed to complete a dunk on his first attempt. However, on the second, he scored a perfect 50 and Robinson III broke out the best dunk of the night. He jumped over three people and did a no look reverse on the opposite side of the rim. Robinson III took home the crown.
Video Credit: Highlight Heaven on Youtube.
66th NBA All-Star Game: West 192, East 182. Leading up to the weekend, all eyes were on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Westbrook has had an overhyped beef with Durant and nobody knew how it would play out on the court. Early on in the game, Westbrook ran a give-and-go with Durant which resulted in an alley-oop slam for the Thunder point guard. In this moment, they seemed to squander their beef. After the game, Westbrook said “It’s just basketball.” He and Anthony Davis combined for 93 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo went for 30 including a huge put back slam over Curry just moments after the unanimous MVP physically laid on the ground to get out of the way of the Bucks forward. Also, the game featured the most combined assists of all time with 103. Davis won MVP honors with 52 points (All-Star high), 10 rebounds. Other notable performances: Westbrook (41 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds), Durant (21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), Antetokounmpo (30 points, 6 rebounds), and Irving (22 points, 14 assists, 7 rebounds).
Photo Credit: Bleacher Report.
