NBA: All-Star Weekend was a success!

In the Rising Stars Challenge, Team USA pulled away from Team World in the second half, winning 151-131. Despite trailing by 10 points at halftime, the United States came out on fire in the third quarter, outscoring their opponent 44-24. Miles Bridges was named MVP after scoring 20 points, five assists, and five rebounds. He also sent out this tweet at halftime, before exploding for a pair of highlights dunks. The World was led by RJ Barrett’s game-high 27 points and Luka Doncic's 16 points and five assists.

The following night, the Miami Heat showed out as Bam Adebayo and Derrick Jones Jr. took home the Skills Competition and Dunk Contest, respectively. Adebayo got the night started with a dominant skills performance before Buddy Hield and Devin Booker stole the show with a thrilling back-and-forth in the Three-Point Shootout, won by Hield. Speaking of thrilling (and controversial) finishes, Derrick Jones Jr. won the dunk title despite Aaron Gordon jumping over 7'5" Tacko Fall. Jones and Gordon earned a combined eight perfect dunks before Jones was named the winner.

(For the record, I think Jones had the best dunk of the night.)

After an exciting Saturday night, the All-Star Game had high expectations and it still exceeded them. In a game that became known for it's high scoring and utter lack of defense for years, has started to become a little more competitive over the last three years, especially this season. Guys like Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, and Kyle Lowry were playing like it was a playoff game. Leonard took home the first ever Kobe Bryant Award as he had 30 points and seven rebounds in Team LeBron's 157-155 victory.

Team LeBron:

Leonard: 30 points

James: 23 points

Paul: 23 points

Team Giannis:

Antetokounmpo: 25 points

Kemba: 23 points

Embiid: 22 points

Photo Credit: Forbes.