Team LeBron achieves its fifth NBA All-Star with a rain of triples
With 16 triples and 50 points in total, Stephen Curry was proclaimed MVP of the all-star and gave Team LeBron their fifth win in a row since the NBA he changed the format of his match for the stars (163-160).
Curry broke the record for 3-pointers in an All-Star and gave an extraordinary skill lesson from the perimeter in the game played in Cleveland (USA), but the decisive basket to beat Team Durant he put it Lebron James with a fadeaway.
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The party in Cleveland was complete since LeBron's teamthe person in charge of the only ring of the Cavaliers (2016), he thus won his fifth All-Star in a row.
It was also a night to remember for Curry.born 60 kilometers from Cleveland in Akron (where LeBron was also born) and who just 2 points off the record in an All-Star still held by Anthony Davis with 52 points (2017).
"This trophy has a very special meaning"Curry said upon receiving the Kobe Bryant Award for All-Star MVP.
"I feel very blessed and very grateful"he added, noting that it was an important moment for him to be back in Ohio (USA).
The meeting had conspicuous absences such as Kevin Durant, that he was not going to play with Team Durant due to injury and that he was not finally on the bench either since his grandmother passed away this Sunday.
Party at the beginning, excitement at the end
The game started as expected, with a total absence of defense in both teams and with each of the players showing off their best skills.
A) Yes, Stephen Curry boasted of aim from the tripleLeBron James showed some of his dunks and Joel Embiid dominated the paint.
However, the most spectacular play at the start was carried out by Ja Morant with a huge alley-oop courtesy of Trae Young.
Team Durant had started off on the wrong foot but was reinvigorated by the contributions from the bench by Devin Booker, Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns.
In any case, the most extravagant moment starred Chris Paul.
Minutes before the start of the game it was announced that the base of the Phoenix Suns will miss at least 6 weeks of competition due to a fracture in the thumb of his right hand.
However, Paul wanted to jump onto the All-Star court at least in a testimonial way (2.19 minutes in total) and he played only with his left hand.
Finally, Luka Doncić entered with Team LeBron and with two triples in a row gave his team the victory in the first quarter (47-45).
darius garlandone of the emblems of the renewed and fascinating Cavaliers, tried to please the Cleveland fans in his own house.
But Curry also claimed the spotlight with no fewer than six three-pointers in the second quarter.two of them almost from midfield.
Morantwithout a doubt one of the most explosive players in the NBA right nowshone again with another magnificent alley-oop served by Young and this time he finished with a 180 degree turn.
Team Durant dominated the second quarter from start to finish and ended up taking that quarter (46-49) thanks to the emergence of two first-timers in the All-Star: Dejounte Murray (13 points in that quarter) and LaMelo Ball (10 points).
Known for being one of the players who takes the All-Star most seriously, Giannis Antetokounmpo called for a pass in the third quarter.
But the attention was again for Curry.
The great point guard of the Warriors made 7 more triples in the third quarter with increasingly distant and increasingly complicated shots (in one of them he turned before seeing if it went in or not).
Although Embiid (12 points) gave it his all for Team Durant, the third quarter ended in a tie (45-45) after a basket on Doncic's counterattack.
With the result accumulated until then (138-139 for Team Durant) and with the new rules in the hands of the All-Star, the winner of the match would be the first to reach 163 points.
That's where things changed completely.
Much sharper and more focused on defense, the two sets took out the claws to take the victory.
Curry hit first with two 3-pointers, but Embiid and Booker responded with two dunks for Team Durant.
By then there were no longer loyalties to respect and Antetokounmpo put a big stopper on his teammate in the Bucks -and today rival- Khris Middleton.
LeBron and Antetokounmpo placed their team on the verge of victory (161-155), but five points in a row from LaVine raised the excitement to the maximum (161-160).
The triumph finally went to LeBron with a winning basket which allowed him to share the glory with a lethal Curry.
