The long run Corridor of Famers on Group Shaq superior to the All-Star Sport closing, however the Rising Stars stored the sport shut up till Damian Lillard‘s game-winner.
Lillard scored a team-high 9 factors, all on three-pointers, as Group Shaq squeaked by Group Candace. Group Candace’s group of first- and second-year gamers hung robust, although the ultimate end result was primarily shut because of the veterans’ makes an attempt to win the sport in dramatic style.
The sport was performed to 40 factors, however when Group Shaq took a 37-31 lead, the gamers stored making an attempt to win the sport dramatically. The staff missed six bounce pictures in a row making an attempt to hit 40 factors precisely, scoring solely on a straightforward Kevin Durant dunk earlier than Lillard lastly nailed his triple.
The referees additionally helped out. Durant was hacked by two Rising Stars on his strategy to the game-winning hoop, with no name. Jayson Tatum missed a wide-open nook three, however Lillard tied up Keyonte George to arrange his profitable possession.
Group Shaq went 6-of-18 on three-pointers, whereas taking pictures 12-of-18 on two-pointers. A lot of that was resulting from makes an attempt at brand threes, fallaway jumpers — and likewise the defensive efforts of Ryan Dunn and Stephon Fort.
One telling second occurred with Group Shaq up 37-31. Stephen Curry discovered Tatum with a behind-the-back move reducing to the ring, however he handed up the straightforward two in favor of passing out to Durant behind the arc, who missed his three. When the veterans surged, it was resulting from hitting Jaylen Brown (eight factors, 4-of-5) for straightforward buckets.
Whereas the Rising Stars acquitted themselves, it nonetheless felt unusual to see future Corridor of Famers dealing with off towards the likes of Dalton Knecht (eight factors) and Trayce Jackson-Davis. The thought was to make the All-Stars play onerous for concern of embarrassment, however it felt like the one factor preserving the sport aggressive was the celebrities making an attempt for crowd-pleasing highlights.
The answer feels easy: Increase the All-Star rosters. With 30 NBA groups, having an additional 4 All-Stars to type 4 groups of seven gamers solves the difficulty of competitiveness, with out together with a bunch of gamers who usually do not begin on their very own groups.
Lillard made certain it wasn’t embarrassing, however beating the worldwide stars of Group Chuck within the closing would require higher shot choice.
