INDIANAPOLIS — The NBA wanted more competition. In return, we earned more points than ever before.
And once again, the All-Star Game was all about offense.
On Sunday night, the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 211-186, with the winner scoring the most points in the game’s 73-year history. Previous mark: 196 points in the West in 2016.
It was a flurry of records. The 397 total points shattered the 374 points set in 2017, and East made 42 3-pointers to break the 35-point mark set by Team LeBron in 2019.
Both teams combined for 193 points in the first half, breaking the first-half record of 191 set last year, and East tied the first-half record with 104 points by intermission.
In the East, All-Star MVP Damian Lillard finished with 39 points, Jaylen Brown had 36 points, and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers finished with 32 points.
What you probably haven’t noticed is that Karl-Anthony Towns scored 50 points for the West in just 28 minutes. For the West, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points.
Highlights were all over the place. Lillard pulled up from half court in the third quarter — swish. Luka Doncic attempted a shot from about 70 feet late in the first half. He hit near the top of the backboard. Towns threw an alley-oop to Stephen Curry. The Warriors star is more of a shooter than a dunker, so they just went with that instead.
Defense was optional and sometimes incidental.
Haliburton made five 3-pointers in 1 minute 32 seconds in the first quarter, helping East take a 53-47 lead at the 12-minute mark.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and other league executives had been seeking a more competitive All-Star Game after last season’s widely criticized 184-175 matchup and TV ratings plummeted.
Even Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who was honored at Sunday’s NBA Legends Brunch, said he hopes the league’s message resonates and makes players take the All-Star Game a little more seriously.
“I know what this league is about and I’m very proud of it,” Bird said. “I’m proud of our players today. I like the game they play. … When you have the best players in the world together, competing, playing hard and showing the fans how good they are, I think it’s very important that we have to show that.”
It had the feel of a big game, like a finals game, but it was clearly far from a playoff atmosphere.
Donovan Mitchell throws an underhand 50-foot inbounds pass, Bam Adebayo inbounds the ball from Nikola Jokic’s backside before dribbling downcourt for a three, and Devin Booker with his hat turned backwards. He passed in front of the game wearing a hat.
