The main event that everyone had been waiting for was here and all the stars were out in a great spectacle. As much as everyone was there to see their favourite players go at each other, there was one thing that we all wanted to see and that was if Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were going to make up or even pass the ball to each other. Our questions were answered and you could say that everyone is now content with the relationship between Durant and Westbrook. The All Stars game is very relaxed and players are usually just looking to have a good time, it's hard to find any player without a smile on their face. But when you look at the score line it tells a whole different story. Almost 200 points were scored by each team, and if you tell that to a NBL fan they probably wouldn't believe it. But that's just how good these players are. Anthony Davis who was on his home court, made an all star game record of 52 points and 10 rebounds to go with it. Making him the MVP of the match. Western conference Head Coach Steve Kerr subbed Westbrook early on in the first quarter, and not long after Durant linked with Westbrook for an alley-oop that was one for the ages. It reminded Thunder fans of the great connection the pair had when Durant was playing for OKC. The West team players all cheered and celebrated as it looked like the two had finally made up. Westbrook's 41 points was one point short of Wilt Chamberlain's previous single game, all star record. Westbrook also got seven assists and five boards. Durant scored 21 points, as well as getting 10 rebounds and 10 assists. For the East team, Giannis Antetokounmpo in his first ever all stars match was an absolute pro, scoring 30 points and his teammate Lebron James scoring 23 points. Both had a terrific first half. The youngster Antetokounmpo showcased an ambitious windmill slam and smashed down a transition dunk that saw Steph Curry hit the floor in an attempt to not be embarrassed. James paid tribute to former NBA player and 2017 Hall of Fame finalist Tracy McGrady with a rim-rocking dunk.
Overall the East had their patches of nice play but in the end, Davis and Westbrook combined was too big of a task, and the two had 93 points between them. The final score 192-182. Day 2 of the All Star Weekend was full of entertainment and failed to disappoint. It began with an awesome performance from DNCE to get everyone in the groove. Then the skills challenge got started with Boston Celtic's Isaiah Thomas, the first player to get through to the championship round. Dribbling around hurdles and throwing the ball into a net, then making a 3 point shot may seem easy but it is definelty not. This proved correct with some unexpected misses and late shots to win. Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz got to the championship round to face Thomas. The other finals round saw Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets battle it out. Hayward beat Thomas in a neck a neck challenge and Porzingis won with an explosive 3 pointer. Both Hayward and Porzingis did well to get to the final but it was Porzingis who came out on top. There was more to come because next up was the 3 point shootout. One half of the splash brothers - Klay Thompson was favoured to win. Infact even the commentators were saying that the other contenders were just there to make up the numbers and that Thompson had already won it before he even shot. The 8 contenders were Kemba Walker (Charlotte Hornets), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers), Wesley Matthews (Dallas Mavericks), Eric Gordon (Houston Rockets), Nick Young (Los Angeles Lakers), CJ McCollum (Portland Trail Blazers), Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors) and Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors.) Here were the first round scores and if the contender was still in contention for the final round or out: Kemba Walker - 19 points (in) Kyrie Irving - 20 points (in) Wesley Matthews - 11 points (out) Eric Gordon - 25 points (in) Nick Young - 18 points (out) CJ McCollum - 10 points (out) Kyle Lowry - 9 points (out) Klay Thompson - 18 points (out) Unexpectedly Klay Thompson didn't make the final round and instead it was down to Eric Gordon, Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving. Walker settled for third place as Gordon and Irving tied with 20 points, to go to the first ever over time in a 3 point shootout. The 2013 winner - Kyrie Irving did his best but lost to the best shooter on the night, Eric Gordon. Irving scored 18 and Gordon scored 21. ,Dunk Contest It was a surprise win for Glen Robinson III but it was well-deserved. Many people will know of Robinson's Dad Glen Robinson Jr. who was the number 1 overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft. But not so much about his son, until it all changed when the younger Robinson won the slam dunk competition. Saying that he wowed the crowd would be an understatement. In his first dunk contest, he started with a vertically challenged dunk after Aaron Gordon struggled in his first attempt. Then Robinson bought out some people, with his two assistants standing next to each other. Next he went to another level with one of the assistant's going on the other's shoulders. Robinson's second go was a dab dunk, but he was penalised because of his repeated misses, getting 41 points from the judges. For his third attempt, he bought out All Star teammate Paul George which the dunk got him 44 points. In Robinson's last attempt it was clear he was the winner as he went out in class, bringing George back along with 2 assistants. He did an astonishing reverse two-handed jam whilst jumping over the trio. After the contest this was what the impressive dunker had to say. “I’ve been an underdog all my life, all my career, This is just the beginning for me.” Even though Aaron Gordon didn't do as well as everyone thought, there was one dunk he did which was very creative. Breaking the norm, he used a drone to carry the basketball near the hoop as he finished with a between the legs dunk. Next year we may see 2 time champion Zach Lavine come back and face this years winner Glen Robinson III. Day 1 of the All star weekend was just the beginning of what was going to be an exciting 3 days of basketball. It was not only the players who captivated the weekend but also a young and inspiring boy by the name of Jarrius Robertson who stole the show and starred in a guest appearance in the celebrity game. Showing us his skills and amazing talent. He even got the chance to be apart of the media day and interviewed many players including Russell Westbrook, he even insisted that OKC needs more shooters. The 14 year old is battling a chronic liver disease and despite this, lives his life with a strong will and a positive attitude. He has a witty personality and makes everyone he meets laugh. There was no wonder why the crazy New Orleans Saints fan was invited to the All Star weekend to join in the fun. To help support Robertson for his next liver transplant and medical bills you can go to: https://www.gofundme.com/jarrius-robertson-2uzfdhgk Robertson's future definitely looks bright in basketball or maybe even sports reporting The celebrity game began and there were some familiar faces all around. Here were the East and West team rosters/coaches: West Coaches: Michael Smith - ESPN Journalist (SportsCenter) Draymond Green - NBA Player (Golden State Warriors) Rocsi Diaz - TV Personality (best known for hosting 106 & Park) Team: Miles Brown - Actor (best known for Black-ish) Tom Cavanagh - Actor (best known for Ed, The Flash) Mark Cuban - Dallas Mavericks owner, entrepreneur, Shark Tank shark Baron Davis - Former NBA player (Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors among others) Andy Grammer - Recording artist (best known for "Honey, I'm Good") Jiang Jinfu - Actor and model (best known for Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar Of Sky) Anthony Mackie - Actor (best known for The Hurt Locker and Captain America: Civil War) Romeo Miller - Actor, recording artist (best known for No. 1 single "My Baby" when he was known as Lil' Romeo, and he has also appeared in numerous TV shows and movies) Hasan Minhaj - Actor, comedian (best known for his role as a correspondent on The Daily Show) Master P - Actor, recording artist, rap mogul, entrepreneur (best known for starting No Limit Records and two albums produced in late 1990s--Ghetto D and MP da Last Don--that went three-time and four-time platinum) Candace Parker - Current WNBA player (Los Angeles Sparks) Aaron Sanchez - Celebrity Chef (best known for being a judge on Chopped East Coaches: Jemele Hill - ESPN journalist (SportsCenter) Kyle Lowry - NBA player (Toronto Raptors) Fat Joe - Recording artist (best known for his No. 1 single "Lean Back") Team: Brandon Armstrong - Former professional basketball player (best known for impersonations of NBA players on YouTube) Win Butler - Recording artist (lead singer, Arcade Fire) Nick Cannon - Actor, recording artist (best known as former host for America's Got Talent among other shows) Rachel DeMita - Host, NBA2KTV Ansel Elgort - Actor, recording artist (best known for the movie The Fault in Our Stars) Marc Lasry - Milwaukee Bucks owner, hedge fund manager Caleb McLaughlin - Actor (best known for Stranger Things and most recently BET miniseries - New Edition) Peter Rosenberg - Radio DJ, co-host, TV show host (best known for Ebro in the Morning and The Michael Kay Show) Oscar Schmidt - Former professional basketball player who had a 30-year career in Brazil and Europe. Best known for his role on the Brazilian national team, playing in five Olympic Games. Lindsey Whalen - Current WNBA player (Minnesota Lynx) Jason Williams - Former NBA player (best known for time on Sacramento Kings when he rose to fame for his ball-handling skills) Kris Wu - Actor, recording artist, model (best known for role in xXx: Return of Xander Cage) It was a great celebrity game with Brandon Armstrong shining and scoring 16 points to go with 15 rebounds, making him the MVP of the game. The East took home the grand prize beating the West 88 -59. Then not long after it was time for the rising stars to take the court with the World playing USA. Canada's Jamal Murray was all class and deservingly got the Most Valuable player. The World team defeated USA 150 - 141.
Tempers flared and OKC weren’t able to put the icing on the cupcake at Durant’s hostile homecoming16/2/2017
Kevin Durant was welcomed by a sea of angry Thunder fans booing him and comparing him to a cupcake. You’d expect this sort of reception, following a decision by Durant that will probably never be forgiven by the people of Oklahoma. The whole of Chesapeake Arena was electric and the Thunder was off to a pleasing start, putting pressure on the star studded team. Steven Adams got a great hook shot and Domantas Sabonis conceded two early fouls to go to the line. The second leading scorer for OKC, Victor Oladipo made a statement with a vicious dunk making Golden State take a timeout. The break was just enough to energize the Warriors to come back and steal the show, finding their way up from an 8 point difference to lead 30-24 after the 1st battle. If you thought the rest of the match was going to be anything like the entrée well think again. Because unfortunately for the packed Thunder crowd a bomb of a main was just about to begin. The Golden State Warriors came out with all guns blazing, Durant, Curry and Thompson working together to get the biggest lead of the game. The halftime score 71-50. The lead carried on into the 3rd quarter, but the game wasn’t over yet and you could sense Billy Donovan’s side were sneaking in and doing their utmost best to close the gap. The Thunder forced some silly errors on Golden State and with a momentum shift; Westbrook got an amazing 3 pointer, then followed by another one straight after, this time by Oladipo. Timeout was called by Steve Kerr and as Westbrook and Durant were walking off, an exchange of words between the two fired everyone up. It was the trash talk we’d all been waiting for. It was understood Westbrook said “I’m coming!” and Durant responded with “You’re losing though.” It was just enough to get the adrenalin pumping, not that it needed a push considering the occasion. But this wasn’t the only encounter of the night, as Durant also got into contact with another old teammate Andre Roberson. It seemed that Roberson said something to Durant who was on the floor after a foul had been called, and when he got back up had some words of his own to say to Roberson, which ended in a tussle. Players from both teams came to break it all up. But the game had to go on and Westbrook’s “I’m coming back” comment was slowly becoming true. There was still belief for OKC and what was a 26 point buffer, turned to 12. But the Golden State Warriors weren’t giving in, dominating to beat OKC 130-114. Matchup GS OKC
FG made-attempted 46-87 40-83 Field goal % 52.9 48.2 3 PT made-attempted 13-31 6-24 Three point % 41.9 25.0 FT made-attempted 25-35 28-36 Free throw % 71.4 77.8 Total rebounds 49 53 Offensive rebounds 10 12 Defensive rebounds 30 31 Team rebounds 9 10 Assists 28 20 Steals 10 7 Blocks 3 8 Total turnovers 12 19 Points off turnovers 19 24 Fast break points 21 7 Points in paint 50 52 Personal fouls 22 23 Technical fouls 2 2 Flagrant fouls 0 0 |
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